The EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia on May 17 will confirm the European perspective of the Western Balkans, a region with fresh memories of war and with long history of close relations with Russia, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk said. Donald Tusk started his Western Balkans trip on Tuesday to prepare for the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia. The road to EU membership will be difficult, but is worth the effort, Donald Tusk said. He added that the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia is a good opportunity to talk about the common security challenges, including migrant smuggling, terrorism and organized crime.