8th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum held in Skopje
Western Balkans Civil Society Forum, held in Skopje on 30 September and 1 October 2021, organized by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), emphasized the need for a clear EU accession perspective for the region and the role that civil society should have in the process.
Lidija Pavić-Rogošić presented the CIVINET Slo-Cro-SEE network for sustainable urban mobility as an example of good practice at the panel “Contribution of civil society to the European Green Deal and sustainable development in the Western Balkans in the context of the EU accession process”.
The EESC organizes the Western Balkans Civil Society Forum every two years, starting from 2006, in cooperation with the European Commission and the Regional Cooperation Council. The Forum is a space for exchanging views on the current state of civil society in the region, its needs and future development. The participants of the Forum adopt a declaration addressed to the national authorities and the European institutions.
This year’s Forum was focused on three topics: (i) how to improve the accession process – a credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans (a new accession methodology, an Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans and the Common Regional Market, opportunities for citizens and CSOs from the Western Balkans to participate in the Conference for the Future of Europe, the EU’s communication strategy for the region); (ii) the contribution of civil society organizations to the Green Deal and the sustainable development of the Western Balkans as part of the EU accession process; and (iii) the state of social dialogue and the provision of civil space in the Western Balkans.
The Forum was organized ahead of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Slovenia on 6 October 2021. Its aim was to send a clear message to the political authorities regarding the challenges and aspirations of civil society in the region. The Forum was attended by the Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia Zoran Zaev, EESC President Christa Schweng, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia Gašper Dovžan, Member of the European Parliament Vladimir Bilčik and others. The forum gathered about 100 participants – representatives of trade unions, employers and other CSOs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Northern Macedonia and Montenegro, representatives of international and European umbrella civil society organizations, representatives of EU delegations from the Western Balkans and others.
In their statements, both the Prime Minister of the Republic of Northern Macedonia Zoran Zaev and the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi insisted that EU enlargement is a geostrategic investment in peace, poverty reduction and economic growth throughout the continent.
As the EESC President Christa Schweng has pointed out, we must not forget that any debate on enlargement is implicitly a debate on the future of Europe. “The Western Balkans is part of Europe, and the challenges of the Western Balkans are also the challenges of the European Union. That is why it is important to involve the Western Balkans in discussions on the future of Europe,” said Slovenian State Secretary Gašper Dovžan.
Sustainable development, stability and prosperity of the Western Balkans are vital for the well-being of the region’s citizens and for the European Union, the panellists said. The political will of both sides is key to continuing the EU’s enlargement process, as well as good neighbourly relations and resolving open issues, it was pointed out.
The Forum participants agreed that the prospect of the Western Balkans’ EU membership is in the Union’s interest if we want to avoid destabilizing the region, the influence of third countries and negative impacts on the EU itself. Despite the general enthusiasm for opportunities for greater convergence of the region with the EU through the Economic and Investment Plan, the Green Deal and support for recovery from the Covid-19 crisis – it was stressed during the debate that road to the EU will be long and challenging. The countries of the region still have a lot of work to do in strengthening regional co-operation, implementing structural domestic reforms and aligning with EU legislation. Meaningful civil and social dialogue and the genuine involvement of the social partners and other civil society organizations in the design and implementation of national policies and reforms, remains a challenge in many Western Balkan countries.
Ionut Sibian, a member of the EESC, said that this Forum had already become a tradition, but for the first time is organised in Skopje. “The forum aims to build bridges between organized civil society in the Western Balkans and that of the European Union, with the main purpose of supporting the EU enlargement process. We call on the Slovenian, French and Czech presidencies to make enlargement a priority and seize the moment to open accession negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania, “said Sibian, who chairs the Western Balkans Follow-up Committee at the EESC.
Participants therefore called for the organization of high-level civil society conferences as an accompanying event to the regular EU and Western Balkans summits, in order to hear the voice of civil society on the topics to be discussed. The Union must send a clear message to the Western Balkans on the region’s European perspective. The opportunity for that will be the summit of the EU and the Western Balkans, which Slovenia will host on October 6, 2021.
Find the final declaration in the attachment.
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