The BFPE Foundation for a Responsible Society, the Atlantic Council, VoisinageS and the French Senate organized roundtable discussions on May 9th 2022 on the premises of the French Senate in Paris as part of the Balkan Dialogues initiative to discuss on “Rethinking the European integration of the Western Balkans in a new geopolitical context.”
The event served to define and propose priorities for European integration of the region, as well as to examine the role of external actors. It was essential to examine the existing regional trends, which are not only short-term but also define the relations between regional actors, as well as the relations between the region and actors such as the EU, China, Russia, USA, and other actors present in the region.
During the discussion, the issues of energy security and dependence of the region, the growing influence of authoritarian foreign and domestic actors, and how the Ukrainian crisis and Russian aggression will affect regional development and the European perspective of the region were raised.
The event brought together representatives of state institutions and think-tankers from the Western Balkans, representatives of French, European, and American institutions, as well as international think-tanks, and academia representatives.
The event was organized with the support of the Open Society Foundations, and the Balkan Trust for Democracy.
Consisting of decision-makers and experts from six Western Balkan countries (WB6), including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, along with the European Union, the United States, Russia and China – the dialogues are designed to help increase and deepening understanding, while building trust between representatives of the various geopolitical interests present in the region today.
