The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) participates as a co-organizer of the Civil Society and Think Tank Forum, which will take place in the framework of the Berlin Process Summit in October 2023 in Tirana (as Albania holds the rotating Presidency of the process). The Forum is co-organised by the Open Society Foundation (OSF) and the Cooperation and Development Institute (CDI).
The Forum will bring together a wide range of stakeholders, representatives of civil society, institutions, non-governmental organisations and experts from the Western Balkans and the European Union, with the aim of exchanging views and making policy recommendations to the leaders of the countries of the region and EU Member States.
The Berlin Process is a platform for cooperation at senior and top level between the Western Balkan states and key EU members, and aims to:
- to deepen cooperation in the EU accession region,
- to promote the necessary reforms and thereby consolidate the prospects of these countries’ accession to the Union.
Drawing on its more than 30 years of experience as the leading Greek think-tank on foreign policy issues, ELIAMEP participates as a co-organiser in the preparation and implementation of the Civil Society and Think Tank Forum: in the coming months until the Tirana Summit (October 2023), ELIAMEP will take on the role of coordinating the work of a number of organisations from the Western Balkan countries.
This work will include:
– the organisation of a series of events (online, physical, hybrid)
– writing policy recommendations and scientific reports on issues such as energy, access to the single market, mobility and security.
– organising visits to major European capitals, such as Brussels, Berlin, Athens, to exchange with political, social, economic and media stakeholders. ELIAMEP, through its wide network of contacts, is contributing to the shaping of the agenda for the enlargement of the European Union.
– the activation of a wide network of experts and scientists from prominent organisations and institutions in Western Europe and the Balkans.
– the assignment to ELIAMEP of a thematic working group on ‘Politics of Enlargement’: this theme aims to identify the main factors shaping the enlargement process at present, the influence they (could) have on accelerating or slowing down the process and the main policies to be developed to support and promote enlargement in the immediate and long-term context.
The aim of the project is for ELIAMEP to make a substantial contribution to the successful implementation of the Forum: its success means the creation of a fruitful, inclusive, transparent and impartial platform for the civil society to provide its insights on the present challenges and future perspectives of the Berlin Process and the European prospects of the Western Balkans region overall. The Forum shall therefore strive to assure connectivity on several layers, meaning connecting the civil society from the Western Balkans with a series of relevant stakeholders including: civil society from members States of the EU, government officials and administration from the Western Balkans, representatives from international institutions/organisations of the EU or its member-states governments. Altogether the aim of the Forum is to achieve a substantial contribution to the Summit, via developing and promoting policy recommendations and thus enhancing the convergence of the 6 Western Balkans states and increasing the resilience of engaged reforms during the accession process of the region. Based on its experience and expertise, ELIAMEP aims to play a leading role in this effort providing input, guidance and visibility, as the most important foreign policy think tank in Greece, the country in the Balkans with the longest European presence.
The implementing body of the ELIAMEP’s contribution to the Civil Society and Think Tank Forum is the South-East Europe Programme led by Ioannis Armakolas, PhD (Cantab), Associate Professor of Comparative Politics of Southeastern Europe at the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia and Principal Researcher & Head of the South-East Europe Programme.
Who we are:
Project lead and academic coordinator: Ioannis Armakolas.
Research associate and strategic communication consultant: Alexandra Voudouri
Research associate: Ana Krstinovska
Research Associate: Isabelle Ioannides
Research Associate: Bledar Feta
Research Associate: Vassilios P. Karakasis
Project Manager: Eleftherios Petropoulos
Project manager: Alexandros Koutras
Communication coordination: Nikos Bakirtzis
ELIAMEP’s participation to the Forum is funded by the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS).
News & Media
Roundtable: Building Bridges for Enhancing Regional Security in the Western Balkan – Bledar Feta.
