After 3 days, 18 panels, 2 keynote speeches, and more than 100 speakers, the Belgrade Security Conference officially closed. This year’s edition gathered 743 registered participants and hosted 566 attendees, marking the most visited BSC to date. Closing remarks were delivered by Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, President of the German Marshall Fund, and Igor Bandović, Director of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy.
In a discussion moderated by Vessela Tcherneva, Deputy Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, panelists examined the modernisation of green technology, its implications for Central and Eastern Europe, and the role China plays in the global clean-tech landscape.
At the Belgrade Security Conference, the panel “Feminist Peace in Hostile Times” examined how global backlash, militarization, and anti-gender movements challenge the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.
The roundtable “Lessons from Swiss Neutrality: Trustbuilding and Dialogue in the Western Balkans” explored how Switzerland’s experience in neutrality can inform peacebuilding and reconciliation in the region.
The panel Digital Repression and the Future of Civic Space focused on how spyware, cyberattacks, disinformation and legal loopholes are increasingly used to intimidate journalists, activists and ordinary citizens, shrinking democratic space across the region. All speakers agreed that these practices create a powerful chilling effect and that stronger safeguards, public awareness and institutional accountability are essential to protect fundamental rights.
As Russia’s war against Ukraine enters yet another year, Europe faces the challenge of moving beyond crisis management toward a sustainable and durable peace architecture. The task is not only to end active hostilities but also to design a stable security framework that prevents renewed conflict and rebuilds trust in European security institutions.
In an audience-inclusive discussion moderated by the Advocacy Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights – YUCOM, Jovana Spremo, panelists representing Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina, discussed the common challenges faced by human rights defenders in the Western Balkans.
The third day of the Belgrade Security Conference continues with the public presentation of the “SecuriMeter 2025 Report: Western Balkans Regional Security Perceptions”.
The panel “Recalibrating EU Support: Strengthening Candidate Countries’ Resilience to Malign Interference” examined how foreign actors exploit institutional weaknesses, economic vulnerabilities, and societal divisions in EU candidate countries – and how the EU can provide more effective support in countering these threats.
At the Belgrade Security Conference, the panel “Democracy Under Siege: The Rise of Anti-Establishment Extremism in Europe and Serbia” examined how anti-establishment narratives, conspiratorial thinking, and far-right activism are reshaping European politics and weakening democratic norms.
