On 6 July 2018, on the occasion of the launch of the 4^th edition of the Balkan Barometer in Brussels, the CDRSEE joined representatives of the European Union (EU), governments, civil society, academia and regional media in a comprehensive discussion over the main findings of a survey, based on the latest examination of attitudes, experiences, aspirations, perceptions and expectations across the six economies of the SEE 2020 process.

CDRSEE’s Executive Director Ms. Zvezdana Kovac moderated the expert panel discussion on the key perception insights that followed the detailed overview of the results of the 2018 edition of the Balkan Barometer. Panelists Mr. Valdrin Lluka, Minister of Economy of Kosovo*, Mr. Hamdo Tinjak, Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Trade & Economic Relations of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Mr. Mario Holzner, Institute Deputy Director and Staff Economist at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW), and Dr. Dusan Reljic, Head of ‘Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik’ of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) brought their input on two broad topics covered by the annual public opinion survey: What is the perception of the region on the EU accession and the EU integration support? What is the business opinion of the situation in the region and what is expected from the governments?

This year’s main findings show that satisfaction of people and businesses on the overall situation in the region, while still below average, is steadily improving. EU accession prospect perceptions among the populations are mixed, with businesses being slightly more optimistic, an indication that the region slowly regains trust in the EU integration process.

The Balkan Barometer is an initiative, first commissioned by the Regional Cooperation Council in 2014, aimed at collecting and analyzing data across a host of thematic areas, examining aspirations and perceptions of the region’s populations and its business community.

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. 

From 27 to 29 June 2018 members of parliaments from NATO member and partner countries along with government officials, representatives from NATO and other international organisations, as well as experts from universities, think tanks and NGOs, gathered in Skopje to exchange views and conduct a constructive dialogue on matters of regional interest, within the framework of the 98th Rose-Roth Seminar of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Our Executive Director Ms. Zvezdana Kovac was among the civil society representatives that participated in the works of the Seminar, that focused on the “Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Western Balkans: Reinforcing the European Peace Project”. Ms. Kovac was among the speakers of the Session on Interethnic Relations in the Western Balkans, moderated by Maria Martens Chairperson of the Science and Technology Committee of the NATO PA, and composed of Ilija Dimovski, Head of the Delegation of the Assembly of the FYR of Macedonia to the NATO PA, Veton Latifi, Professor of the South-East European University and Henrik Bliddal, Seminar Director of NATO PA.

In her speech Ms Kovac gave her assessment on the current situation and the possible avenues towards strengthening reconciliation efforts in the Western Balkans, at a time when the region finds itself at a crossroads in many ways. “It is necessary to work on internal reconciliation, in order to be able to realise regional reconciliation”, she stated, further, stressing that it is only through multi-perspectival education, interethnic dialogue and critical thinking that the Balkan peoples will ever manage to throw off the shackles of ethnocentrism and past divisions.

The Seminar covered a full spectrum of internal and external challenges that the accession countries and the region as a whole face, including good neighbourly relations and stability in the Western Balkans, the role of disinformation and misinformation in public discourse as well as the migration crisis and the Balkan Route.

CDRSEE established a permanent partnership with the Public Policy Institute and the Hanns Seidel Foundation within the scope of a series of bilateral fora of experts.

Following the meeting of CDRSEE’s Executive Director Ms. Zvezdana Kovač with the President of the Public Policy Institute, Dr. Zdravko Popov, the Head of Hanns Seidel Foundation Bulgaria, Dr. Bogdan Mirtchev, and the Regional Director Southeast Europe of Hanns Seidel Foundation, Dr. Klaus Fiesinger, the CDRSEE will work together with the aforementioned institutions in the implementation of a permanent series of Greek-Bulgarian expert seminars taking place every year alternately in Bulgaria and in Greece.

The initiative aspires to evolve into a regular forum of dialogue on topics pertaining to the current and future affairs of Europe, the contemporary global challenges as well as on topics related to the democratic institutions and the civil society participation in the two countries.

This year’s regular series of seminars will start on 17-19 October in the town of Sandanski, followed by another one in spring, expectantly in Thessaloniki.

CDRSEE, as a long-established and highly regarded international organization, is delighted to contribute to the project through its remarkable network of partners and experts in the region of Southeast Europe and through its long-standing experience and recognized competence in delivering multi-stakeholder, inclusive projects.