SKOPJE – The Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis“ Skopje (IDSCS) together with the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) Sofia will host the Western Balkans Think Tank Forum in Skopje under the title “Stimulating strategic autonomy. Western Balkans’ contribution for a shared European Future” from 8 to 10 March.
This event is an integral part of the 2020 Berlin Process Co-Presidency programme hosted by the governments of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia. It is supported by the Erste Stiftung and Europe’s Futures.
During the event, experts will discuss different challenging areas of European integration including questions of economic and social convergence, environmental issues and hybrid threats. More general outlooks on the future of Europe, based on the accumulated knowledge and expertise of European Think Tanks, should inspire and encourage participants and governments alike to take ambitious steps towards a shared European future.
The Forum will be opened on Sunday, 8 March, by Marko Troshanovski, President of the Institute for Democracy. Stefan Lehne, Visiting Scholar at the Carnegie Europe in Brussels, will address the participants before the first panel discussions on the New Green Deal and the Economic and Social Convergence.
Second day of the Forum will feature the discussions on migration, security/hybrid threats, rule of law and the future of Europe, with the speakers including Corina Stratulat, Senior Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre, Tanja Miščević, Deputy Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Vesela Tcherneva, Deputy Director of the European Council of Foreign Relations and Head of Sofia Office, Hedvig Morvai, Director for Strategy and Europe of the ERSTE Foundation.
Tuesday’s discussion will include representatives of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the region, and the provisional lists includes Ministers of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia, Greece and Croatia.
Members of Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG), including Tena Prelec, Jovana Marović, Milica Delević, Donika Emini and Zoran Nechev, will participate at the event, as well as Igor Bandović, Executive Director of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, Marko Savković, Program Director of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, Ivan Vejvoda, Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Studies at Vienna.
European Western Balkans will be reporting from the event.