BRATISLAVA – Annual GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum will be held this week, with a focus on mobilising support and action for Ukraine and the broader European neighbourhood, including the Western Balkans. Among the speakers from the region will be Aleksandar Vučić, Albin Kurti, Dimitar Kovachevski, and Milo Đukanović.
GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum, held every year since 2005, has established itself as the leading platform in the Central Eastern Europe region and one of the top strategic conferences globally. The forum will be held from Thursday 2 June to Saturday 4 June.
Opening remarks on Thursday will be delivered by the President of Slovakia Zuzana Čaputová, while the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also address the Forum. President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will speak about EU’s support to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Among the questions the Forum will try to answer are how EU and the West can overcome their imitations and offer more intense and comprehensive support to Ukraine, as well as what the Transatlantic community can do differently in and with the Western Balkans in order to increase democratic resilience of the region, neutralise any attempt of malign interference and consolidate the region as part of a “democratic Europe United and Free”.
On 2 June at 15:00 President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić will speak at a panel titled “EU and Serbia: A strategic partnership for the future”, moderated by Kevin Baron.
A day later, on Friday at 13:40, a panel titled “Now or Never: Unlocking the European Future of the Western Balkans” will take place, with the participation of the President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović, Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti, Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovachevski, EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajčák and UK Special Envoy Sir Stuart Peach.
Other topics of the Forum include the strategy of the West towards Russia under Putin and post-Putin, developing EU resilience and energy, cyber resilience and the future of West-China relations.
Another panel will be focused on the security of the EU’s Eastern border with Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Kiril Petkov and Prime Minister of Lartvia Krišjānis Kariņš.
European Western Balkans is a media partner of the 2022 GLOBSEC Forum.