POZNAŃ – Strengthening civil society, the connectivity agenda, EU enlargement policy and the development of the Berlin process will be some of the themes of the Western Balkans Summit in Poznań, which includes a reflection forum , a civil society forum, a business forum, Ministerial Meetings and Leaders Summit.
Forum Think Thanks will be held on July 3, and one of the key objectives of the Forum is to discuss the achievements and challenges facing the new European Commission related to the EU enlargement policy and the development of the Berlin process.
Forum participants will discuss the connectivity agenda, as one of the goals of the Berlin Process is to improve connectivity and regional cooperation across the world.
Western Balkans.
The following Think Thank Forum panel will explore the social and economic development of the Western Balkans region, as well as the main social, economic and employment challenges these countries face.
“The Western Balkans Summit takes place at a time when the composition of the European institution for the next five years is being decided, and this decision will shape the new strategic priorities of EU policy towards the Balkans, which will the subject of the last panel of the day”, we read in the agenda of the Think Thank Forum.
Some of the speakers at the Think Thank Forum will be Jelica Minicpresident of the International Relations Forum, Ardian Hackajresearch director at the Institute for Cooperation and Development, Gersi Gashi from the Democracy for Development Institute, Jovana Marovic from the Politikon network, Vladimir Medakvice-president of the European Movement in Serbia and Maciej PopowskiDeputy Director General for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.
THE Civil Society Forum will take place the next day, Thursday July 4.
Strengthening civil society represents one of the four priorities of the Polish Presidency in the Berlin Process, alongside security, connectivity and the economy, and it is extraordinarily focused on “interactions”. Therefore, at the Poznań Western Balkans Summit 2019, many experts and activists will come together to discuss, from a broader perspective, the future and current situation of the region.
The Forum will feature several parallel sessions – Intensifying regional transformation efforts to advance European integration, Local initiatives solving local problems, A better environment for a better life, Disinformation and hybrid threats to democracy, Fighting corruption as a primary condition of economic growth. and Overcoming the legacy of the past.
Some of the speakers will be Majlinda BreguSecretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Genoveva Ruiz CalaveraDirector for the Western Balkans at the Directorate-General for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission, Ekaterina ZakharyevaMinister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Duro BlanushaSecretary General of RYCO, Johannes HahnEuropean Commissioner responsible for neighborhood policy and enlargement negotiations, Nikola DimitrovMinister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia and Marija Pejčinović BurićMinister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia.
The motto of the Business Forum to be held on the same day is “Growing together” and the main objective of the Forum is to strengthen relationships between participants, particularly in a business context. The main themes of the Forum will be renewable energies, the development of digital infrastructure, food and agrotechnology.
Also, July 4 Foreign ministers to hold bilateral and multilateral meetings.
THE Leaders Summit of the Western Balkans and members of the Berlin Process will take place on the last day of the summit in Poznań, Friday July 5.
The leaders will discuss the most important issues regarding the Western Balkans.