Balkan Futures

On 22 January 2018 in Sarajevo, the EUISS launched its newest project – Balkan Futures. The project is implemented by the EUISS and supported by the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB). It consists of a series of expert meetings/workshops in Sarajevo, Belgrade, Skopje, Tirana, and Brussels that will be organised from January to April 2018. The workshop participants are experts from the Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia), and the aim is to provide a forum for in-depth discussions and analysis of regional trends, as well as reflect on the main drivers that will shape the Western Balkans by 2025, when the next enlargement phase is expected to occur.

Moreover, the project will result in a report elaborating different futures scenarios – desirable, probable, and least-probable – presenting the risks and opportunities of particular policy decisions. The first four workshops were held in Sarajevo and Belgrade from 22-25 January at the premises of the EU Delegations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia. On 25 January 2018 the EUISS also organised a panel discussion titled ‘The New EU Enlargement Strategy: Imagining the Balkan Futures’ at the EU Info Center in Belgrade, gathering local and regional experts, as well as the representatives of the diplomatic core and more than 40 participants.

The next four workshops are planned for the end of February in Skopje and Tirana. To remain informed about the project, announcements, and our activities in the Balkans, use #balkanfutures.