In partnership with the Balkan Center for Constructive Policies – Solution (North Macedonia) and the Embassy of Sweden, the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) is hosting the fourth edition of the BSC Leaders Meetings event that will take place on 12 March 2025 in Podgorica, Montenegro.

The BSC Leaders Meetings present a series of half-day events organised throughout the Western Balkans. They are part of the Belgrade Security Conference (BSC) – a high-level international policy event organised by the BCSP each year in the third week of November in Belgrade.

The BSC Leaders Meetings aim to gather policy-makers and experts who will discuss major foreign and security challenges facing the region, geopolitical events and trends affecting it and to assess the future of democratic reforms, regional cooperation and the place of the Western Balkans in global politics.

Panel discussion “Montenegro’s European Dream: A Success Story for the Region?”

In December 2024, Montenegro reached a significant milestone in its European Union membership negotiations by provisionally closing three negotiation chapters during the Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels. This signaled a renewed momentum in its EU integration process. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described Montenegro’s ambition to become the EU’s 28th member by 2028 as achievable. Compared to other EU candidate countries, Montenegro’s small size and lack of major bilateral disputes with its neighbors position it as a clear frontrunner in the EU enlargement process. The aim of this high-level panel of the BSC Leaders Meetings is to take stock of the opportunities and obstacles standing between Montenegro and other Western Balkan countries’ EU membership. What are the remaining challenges Montenegro must address to be able to end the EU accession negotiations by 2028? What lessons can other Western Balkans countries take from Montenegro’s EU accession strategy? Could Montenegro’s progress catalyze renewed momentum in the EU integration of other Western Balkans nations? While 2025 promises to be a decisive year for EU enlargement, the question remains will the EU and its member states be ready to receive new members from 2028-2030?

Agenda

11:00 – 11:05 Opening remarks:

• Igor Bandović, Director of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy

11:05 – 12:05 Panel Discussion:

• Jessica Rosencrantz, Minister for EU Affairs of Sweden
• Todor Goranović, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Montenegro for Security and Defence
• Nikola Dimitrov, President and co-founder of the Balkan Center for Constructive Policies – Solucija, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia
• Vanja Ćalović, Executive Director of MANS

Moderator: Igor Bandović, Director of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy

11:45 – 12:00 Q&A

The post BSC Leaders Meetings Podgorica: “Montenegro’s European Dream: A Success Story for the Region?” appeared first on BELGRADE SECURITY CONFERENCE 2024.

Under the title “Albania and the Western Balkans in the EU by 2030: Tackling the Obstacles Ahead”, the third in a series of BSC Leaders Meetings events took place in Tirana, Albania on Friday, May 17, 2024.

The panel discussion hosted distinguished speakers such as Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, Prof. Dr. Daniela Schwarzer, Member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Executive Board, Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council and Vessela Tcherneva, Deputy Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Nikola Dimitrov, the president and co-founder of the Balkan Center for Constructive Policies – Solucija and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, moderated the discussion.

Srđan Cvijić, the president of the International Advisory Committee of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, made opening remarks by saying that the BSC Leaders Meetings are a place to discuss major foreign and security policy issues. “This one is dedicated to the momentous shift in the EU’s approach to enlargement and the palpable goal of having some, if not all countries of our region, in the EU by 2030. Regional cooperation is the key and that’s what we are doing here today.,“ Cvijić concluded.

Andi Dobrushi, the director of Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans, joined Cvijić in welcoming the participants and attendees of the event. He was looking forward to a fruitful discussion by sharing his belief that the BSC Leaders Meetings panel debate will help evaluate opportunities and challenges Albania is facing on its trajectory towards the EU.

When asked about his predictions on Albania’s EU membership by 2030., Edi Rama said that “this continent is in front of a very difficult democratic winter.” However, “there is much more openness for the EU enlargement and we have to do our part of the work. Albania will be inside the EU as integrated part of it without being members.“ Rama concluded that we have the control of the future, not the past. “We have to see the past with the eyes of the future, not the future with the eyes of the past,“ he explained.

“Both sides missed the opportunity to move forward and this is why there is skepticism regarding the EU integration in the region,“ Daniela Schwarzer from the Bertelsmann Stiftung Executive Board said. “We need a gradual approach to the EU integration. The European growth plan is good step forward but candidate countries should go through the rule of law transformation,” she explained and stressed that the mere fact of having QMV disciplines the EU member states to deal with the matter more seriously.

Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council Majlinda Bregu said that “Learning by doing is going to be the name of the game when it comes to the region entering the EU Single Market.” She also added that 54% of Balkan citizens believe they will enter the EU, however, in Serbia the support to the EU integration is only 35%. “We should hurry and prepare our countries for the EU membership, instead of waiting for the EU,“ Bregu explained.

While moderating the panel discussion. Nikola Dimitrov said that a success of one would become success for all. “We desperately need good news in the region,” he explained.

Vessela Tcherneva shared her thoughts by saying that when there is talk about qualified majority voting in enlargement, it is usually an excuse not to proceed with enlargement. “Albania has a very good chance to be a front runner if it wanted to. A lot of that will depend on their ambition,“ she added.

“Alignment with CFSP will not be an option any more,” stated Tcherneva while Bregu and Schwarzer agreed, adding that it is likely there will be no funding (including from the EU Growth Plan) if candidate countries don’t comply with RoL and EU CFSP.

The panel discussion was followed by an engaging Chatham House debate “Bilateral Disputes and EU Enlargement: A Consensual Divorce“ that was built upon the conclusions of the latest BCSP and Solucija policy brief of the same title.

Watch the full video from the event HERE.

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