These papers were prepared in the framework of the run-up activities for the Civil Society and Think Tank Forum 2023 of the Berlin Process which took place in Tirana and was co-organized by ELIAMEP.
The Civil Society Forum, hosted annually since 2015, is an important aspect of the Berlin Process as it engages a vast pool of civil society analysts and activists from the region and the EU and strives to invigorate a public debate on the most pressing issues and provide recommendations to policy makers.
1) Key recommendations of the Thematic Working Group on Politics of Enlargement:
This paper was written by Ioannis Armakolas, ELIAMEP Senior Research Fellow, Head of the South-East Europe Programme and Ana Krstinovska, ELIAMEP Research Fellow, Southeast Europe Programme.
This paper is prepared in the framework of the run-up activities for the Berlin Process Civil Society Forum 2023. It aims to take stock of the current ideas and initiatives to re-incentivize the EU enlargement policy towards the Western Balkans, in particular by considering avenues for addressing the key political issues that stand in the way. To that effect, it includes and builds on the consultations with a broad group of experts from the Western Balkans and EU Member States, which took place between June and September 2023. The process involved three consultation meetings with 42 stakeholders, as well as an in-person public conference with 144 attendees. The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) facilitated the consultation process, alongside a core group of experts.
You can read the paper here.
2) Key recommendations of the Thematic Working Group on Security and Geopolitics:
These recommendations stem from consultations with security experts across all Western Balkan countries within the Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Security and Geopolitics. Discussions focused primarily on how to foster regional security cooperation. The process involved three consultation meetings with 50 regional security experts and other stakeholders, as well as a public conference held in Pristina with 51 attendees. This conference aimed to analyse the primary findings from the consultation process and to establish a set of recommendations for enhancing regional security cooperation. The Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) facilitated the consultation process, alongside a core group of security experts from each of the six Western Balkan countries.
You can read the paper here.
3) Key recommendations of the Thematic Working Group on Mobility:
These recommendations stem from the consultation process held in the framework of the Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Mobility led by SCiDEV. The TWG deliberated on how enhanced cooperation and sustained support in mobility-driven R&I are pivotal for equipping the WB6 with the requisite tools and knowledge to address shared challenges, such as climate change and digital transformation, while curbing brain drain and fostering a generation of innovators who can reshape the region’s future. Over the summer of 2023, four consultation meetings were held, bringing together a multi-disciplinary group of stakeholders (43 participants), including representatives from universities and research centres, intergovernmental organisations, civil society organisations, think tanks from the Western Balkans countries (WB6) and the EU. A final public consultation event was held in September hosting 55 participants as well as a presentation at the Joint Science Conference of the Berlin Process. The findings and recommendations were validated during advocacy visits in Berlin, Brussels and networking events in Sarajevo and Munich in September 2023.
You can read the paper here.
4) Key recommendations of the Thematic Working Group on Energy:
These recommendations stem from consultations with stakeholders cross all Western Balkan countries and the EU within the Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Energy. Discussions focused primarily on the importance of the rule of law and human rights including the need to extend and revise the Treaty Establishing Energy Community, and a just and inclusive energy transition. The process involved two consultation meetings with 40 regional experts and other stakeholders, as well as a public conference held in September. This conference aimed to analyse the primary findings from the consultation process and to establish a set of recommendations for enhancing energy reforms. The Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI) facilitated the consultation process, alongside a core group of energy experts from each of the six Western Balkan countries.
You can read the paper here.
5) Key recommendations of the Thematic Working Group on Digitalization and Connectivity:
These recommendations stem from consultations with over 30 participants from organizations and institutions working in areas like digital rights, media development, information integrity, democracy building, fact-checking, technology and others. The group had met 2 times and had regular online communications, as well as individual consultations on policy recommendations. Wider consultations were also held with 79 stakeholders like representatives of EU institutions, institutions of the governments in the region and EU based NGOs. Closed consultation meetings were also held, one with a group of CSO members of European Digital Rights Initiative (EDRI) and another with members of the SEECheck network. Two public events with 257 attendees also took place during the process a panel discussion at the POINT conference in Sarajevo, and one during the Digital Rights Summer School in Kotor. The group facilitators had advocacy meetings with representatives of EU institutions in Brussels, German ministries in Berlin, and individual meetings with decision makers, both at Bled Strategic Forum, and through visits to institutions in the region. UG Zašto ne facilitated the consultation process, alongside a core group of experts from each of the six Western Balkan countries.
You can read the paper here.
6) Key recommendations of the Thematic Working Group on Climate and Green Agenda:
This Policy Paper is prepared by the Institute for Good Governance and Policies in Environment and Climate Change (IPECC) as the leader of the Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Climate and Green Agenda of the 2023 Civil Society and Think Tank Forum (CSF2023) of the Berlin Process. The views outlined in the Policy Paper were shaped through a comprehensive consultation process, involving representatives from the CSOs, members of the TWG on Climate and Green Agenda and stakeholders from the WB6, and prominent experts from the WB6 and the European Union (EU), as well as through desk research presented in Introduction Papers and insights gained through advocacy visits. The process involved three consultation meetings with 266 stakeholders and a public hybrid conference attended by 102 participants. These recommendations are a result of targeted and comprehensive efforts of the Thematic Working Group on Climate and Green Agenda.
You can read the paper here.
7) Key recommendations of the Thematic Working Group on Access to European Single Market:
This paper is based on inputs from three regional online consultation events and one hybrid public event of the Thematic Working Group “Access to European Single Market” organised between June and September 2023. The thematic working group led by the European Policy Institute, Skopje (EPI) gathered more than 65 experts from civil society, academia, private sector, and state administration from the Western Balkan Six and the Member States¹, while the event was attended by 83 participants. The European Policy Institute (EPI) facilitated the consultation process, alongside a core group of experts.
You can read the paper here.