Feb 9, Skopje
WB6 Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Energy
- WB6 Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Energy
- Italian Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs
- DG NEAR Commissioner
- Representatives of IFIs
- RCC Secretary General
- 50 million euro to support energy efficiency and renewable energy were allocated
- Transport Community Treaty will be signed
- Roadmap on Regional Market on Electricity and Sustainability Charter to be implemented
March 16, Sarajevo
WB6 Prime Ministers meeting
- WB6 Prime Ministers
- Representatives of Italy, the EC and the EEAS
- Further progress is needed to improve border crossing procedures and infrastructure facilities
- Proposal to further economic cooperation in the WB6 announced for the Trieste Summit
Apr 26-28, Tirana
Civil Society Forum
- Regional civil society organisations and think tanks
- Recommendations for the Trieste Summit formulated (youth cooperation, rule of law / anticorruption, business environment, bilateral issues)
Jun 14-16, Paris
Joint Science Conference
- National Academies and Rector’ Conferences and Universities of WB6, Austria, Germany, Italy and Slovenia; representatives of France, Italy and the EC; RCC; regional and EU scientists and experts
- Recommendations for the Trieste summit agreed upon (to establish the WB Research Foundation and to develop a WB Action Plan for Smart Growth)
Participants:
- WB6: Presidents and Prime Ministers, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Economy
- EU: EC President and V.-President, DG NEAR and DG MOVE Commissioners, HR of the EU Foreign Policy and Security Affairs
- Austria, Croatia, Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia and the United Kingdom: Prime Ministers, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Economy
- International financial institutions
Topics:
- Connectivity agenda
- Transport Community
- Rule of law and fight against corruption
- Regional economic integration
- SMEs development
- Education and science
Commitments:
- Treaty Establishing Transport Community signed
- Multi-annual Action Plan for a Regional Economic Area adopted
- Joint Declaration Against Corruption agreed upon
- 7 additional connectivity investment projects agreed upon
- A grant for co-financing and the balance loans from the EIB and the EBRD provided
- Connectivity Europe Facility (CEF) mobilized for the first time
- Digital Summit to be held
- 48 million euro will be provided for SMEs through WB EDIF
- Western Balkans Research Foundation to be established
Highlight:
- Recommendations on regional cooperation and bilateral relations, rule of law / anti- corruption, youth cooperation, business climate, environment, and more efficient communications of the Berlin Process were presented
Highlight:
- The Secretariat of the WB6 CIF inaugurated
Highlight:
- The work of RYCO, the Young Civil Servants Scheme, Erasmus + programme discussed
August 26, Durres
WB6 Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Energy Informal meeting of WB6 Prime Ministers
- WB6 Ministers of Foreign Affairs
- DG NEAR Commissioner
- 115-point plan - a road map to deepen regional economic cooperation agreed upon
Sep 20, New York
Meeting of the WB Ministers of Foreign Affairs in New York
- WB6 Ministers of Foreign Affairs
- DG NEAR Commissioner
- RCC Secretary General
- MAP for the REA was discussed
Oct 26, Sofia
EU – Western Balkans Justice and Home Affairs ministerial forum in Sofia
- Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs of WB6, Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria
- DG HOME and DG JUST Commissioners
- Ensuring effective border management and fighting migrant smuggling are top priorities
- It is necessary to strengthen operational partnership to efficiently and effectively address counter-terrorism and radicalisation, and transnational organised crime
Oct 31, Brussels
Meeting of MAP coordinators for the REA
- WB6 MAP coordinatorsRepresentatives of the EU institutions, RCC, CEFTA and WB6 CIF, the World Bank and the EBRD
- Full implementation of the Action plan and the formation of the regional economic area would begin in 2023
- RCC to work on mutual recognition of professional and academic qualifications, on single roaming space, on regional investment reform agenda; and to co-organise the Digital Summit
Dec 18, Brussels
Meeting of the Berlin Process Sherpas
- WB6 official representatives
- Representatives of the DG NEAR
- RCC Secretary General
- Monitoring reports on MAP for the REA and Connectivity agenda implementation plans presented
- The WB6 presented plans for the coming months for implementation of the Connectivity agenda, for MAP for the REA and for the related reforms
Picture: German Federal Government/Bergmann