The Western Balkans contribute to the Conference on the Future of Europe
The EU launched the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) in spring 2021 to open a new debate with citizens, as a way of addressing Europe's challenges and priorities. The Western Balkans are at the heart of the continent, aspire to become member states of the European Union, and already have the EU as the main political, economic and trade partner. It was therefore natural for the Western Balkans to be included in this debate.
The civil society-led Western Balkans events kicked off in July 2021 at the Prespa Forum Dialogue, where the panel “What can the Western Balkans do for the EU?” discussed how the region can contribute to shaping Union’s future policies and ambitions. It was followed by continued public and civic initiatives in the region, including:
The EU-Western Balkans Media Literacy Conference, 27 September, Skopje, North Macedonia gathered fact-checkers, journalists, youth and authorities from the Western Balkans and the rest of Europe to discuss building resilience to disinformation.
The event Initiative, Engagement, Enthusiasm – Strengthening Democracy in BiH and the Region through Civic Activism, on 1 October in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, collected citizens’ best practices, ideas and challenges to explore ways of integrating them into the policy-making process and the wider European debate.
In Kosovo, the event Western Balkans Perspectives on the Future of Europe: Prishtina addressed among other things what distinct contributions the region can bring for advancing the European project.
On 4 October, EUROPE COMPLETE took place in Belgrade, Serbia, concluding that only a united Europe can properly address the ever-growing number of cross-border challenges.
On 18 October, the event Building Europe Together: Western Balkans’ contribution to the Conference on the Future of Europe continued the discussions, and summarised the findings of the regional debates so far organised.
Finally, during the HR/VP’s mission to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia in March 2022, he participated in an event in Skopje with youth and civil society representatives, who presented him with a summary of the region’s contribution to the Conference. The event can be watched here.
The organisers of these events registered those on the platform of the CoFoE and uploaded reports and recommendations.
The region’s contribution to the Conference was also recognised in the Brdo Declaration adopted at the EU – Western Balkans Summit on 6 October 2021, which states that the EU and the Western Balkans need to work together to face generation-defining tasks, and that the EU welcomes the initiatives of the Western Balkans to contribute to the reflections on the future of our continent.
Read more
- Conference on the Future of Europe
- The Western Balkans contribute to the Conference on the Future of Europe
- Building Europe Together: Western Balkans’ citizens contribute to the Conference on the Future of Europe
- High Representative/Vice-President Blog ‘The Conference on the future of Europe: what do citizens want for Europe’s global role
