BELGRADE – The documentary “The Time of Stabilitocracy” produced by European Western Balkans and Panorama Films premiered tonight in Belgrade.
This is the first documentary in the Western Balkans region that covers the phenomenon of stabilitocracy. Experts for this region and European integration, as well as direct participants in democratic processes in the region, spoke about this phenomenon in the EWB documentary.
As the authors pointed out, the citizens of the Western Balkans have been fighting for democracy, freedom, and a fairer society for decades. They perceived membership in the European Union as a way to realize their wishes and Europe as an ally in that struggle. After 20 years of European integration, citizens are left alone in this struggle.
Burdened by its internal problems and crises, the European Union asked the Balkans for only one thing – to be a place where no new conflicts arise. She thus became an ally of the leaders who were destroying democracy in this region.
One of the authors, Nikola Burazer, assessed after the premiere that today, due to the importance of the ambition for membership in the European Union and the Europeanization of the region itself, it is necessary to speak critically about stabilitocracy and the role of the EU in creating this phenomenon.
“For the enlargement of the European Union in the Western Balkans to become reality, democracy and the rule of law must be at the core of the process. Our goal should be for countries in the region to be on the same level as the EU member states, and that is why this film is a kind of alarm for all those who want to see the democratization and membership of the countries of the region in the European Union,” said Burazer.
Production of the documentary has been supported by European Fund for the Balkans (EFB), Kingdom of Sweden and Belgrade Open School (BOS).