Event report

The discussions on the Future of Europe have started without taking into account the perspective of the Western Balkans, the most prominent, the one that has been given a clear EU perspective. Despite you hear that rhetoric time and again, the Western Balkans have always strived to be included into existential debates that have happened in the EU in the recent years, starting with the migration in 2015 to the pandemic in 2020, let alone the enlargement debate that is one that is dragging its feet forever. We (the region) have made our way into these debates always by trying to prove we are worth the inclusion, always by showing how we serve the EU interest to have us within and sometimes by leading by example. There is a well-established understanding that we do share a future, but it need to be amplified: the voice of the WB does matter in the conversation on the future of Europe. We deeply believe that the future of Europe would be an unfinished business without the Western Balkans. We indeed share the same history and the same destiny. Not only our strategic goals and interests, but also our challenges to the future are common.