Jan 24, Belgrade
Civil Society Forum of the Western Balkans conference
- Serbian civil society organisations and think tanks
- EU and EU member states’ official representatives in Serbia
- Official representatives of Serbia
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- Discussion on the priorities of the Poznan Summit
Feb 15, Warsaw
WB6 Ministers of the European Affairs and EC meeting
- Ministers and representatives of WB6 Ministries of European integrations
- DG NEAR representatives
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- Enlargement perspective, European security and construction of trans-European connections were discussed
Feb 21, Tirana
WB6 Ministries’ of Foreign Affairs exchange with RYCO
- Representatives of WB6 Ministries of Foreign Affairs
- Representatives of RYCO
- Representatives of RCC and ReSPA
- GIZ ORF EU Integration
- Exchange of information RYCO’s activities and plans
- Discussion on ways of improving cooperation of RYCO with institutional bodies and other regional organizations
Feb 25, Skopje
Reflection Forum
- North Macedonian and EU civil society organisations and think tanks
- EU and EU member states’ official representatives in North Macedonia
- Official representatives of North Macedonia
- GIZ ORF EU Integration
- Discussion on North Macedonia’s EU accession process, WB6 cooperation and the results and prospects of the Berlin Process
Feb 25, Tirana
Roundtable with civil society
- Albanian civil society organisations and think tanks
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- Discussion on the priorities of the Poznan Summit
Feb 26, Podgorica
Roundtable with civil society
- Montenegrin civil society organisations and think tanks
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- Discussion on the priorities of the Poznan Summit
Feb 28, Sarajevo
Roundtable with civil society
- Bosnia and Herzegovina civil society organisations and think tanks
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- Discussion on the priorities of the Poznan Summit
Mar 26-27, Sarajevo
Western Balkans Research and Innovation Meetings
- WB6 and EU experts
- DG NEAR, DG RTD and DG COMM representatives
- RCC representatives
- State of research and innovation policy in WB6 was discussed
- The next Steering Platform and Ministerial Meetings were prepared
Mar 28, Skopje
2nd Stocktaking seminar on bilateral issues (in the framework of the Berlin Process)
- Representatives of WB6 Ministries of Foreign Affairs
- Representatives of Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs of Austria and of MFAs of Bulgaria and Greece
- Representatives other of EU member states participating in the Berlin Process
- Regional and EU think tanks
- GIZ ORF EU Integration
- Exchange of experiences in preparing reports and ideas and proposals regarding the “Poznan report” prepared for the WB Summit in Poznan
Apr 4-5, Belgrade
Digital Summit
- Ministers of information society and Digital Agenda of the WB6
- EC Digital Economy and Society Commissioner
- RCC and EIB
- Regional and EU experts and businesses
- Digital skills, networks and connectivity, trust and security and digital economy and society were discussed
- Regional Roaming Agreement was signed
Apr 11-12, Warsaw
Berlin Process Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting
- WB6 Ministers of Foreign Affairs
- Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- Representatives of RYCO
- Employment, education, culture, entrepreneurship and young people’s role in building good neighbourly relations in the region were discussed
Apr 16-17
Civil Society Forum Tirana
- WB6 civil society organisations and think tanks
- ESC President
- EEAS Director
- Representative of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- RCC representatives
- The need for the civil society to have a prominent role in promoting EU integration, regional cooperation and social dialogue in the WB6 was stressed
Apr 24, Sarajevo
Regional meeting of WB6 MFAs’ and Prime Ministers’ offices representatives
- Representatives of WB6 Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Prime Ministers’ Offices
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- DG NEAR, RCC and MARRI representatives
- GIZ ORF EU Integration
- Stocktaking of implementation of the Berlin Process commitments
- Planning for the Poznan Summit
Apr 24-25
Roundtable with civil society Pristina
- Kosovo civil society organisations and think tanks
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- Discussion on the priorities of the Poznan Summit
May 8-9, Tirana
Brdo-Brijuni Process Meeting
- WB6 Presidents and Prime Ministers
- Presidents of Croatia and Slovenia
- President of Poland
- A possibility of a new, unique regional approach to the WB6 EU accession was discussed
- The importance of truth- and trust-based reconciliation and solution of lingering issues was stressed
May 10, Belgrade
Regional Meeting of the WB6 Ministries Foreign Affairs and the Civil Society Forum of the Western Balkans
- Representatives of WB6 Ministries of Foreign Affairs
- Civil Society Forum of the WB
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- GIZ ORF EU Integration
- The Civil Society Forum of the WB policy briefs, prepared on accordance with the topics of the Poznan Summit were presented to the regional MFAs and the Poznan Summit team and discussed
May 13-14
Think tank Forum, Skopje
- WB6 and Polish think tanks
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- DG NEAR representatives
- The WB prospects for EU accession, regional integration, bilateral relations and democratization in the region were discussed
May 15-16, Belgrade
Meeting of foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group (V4) and the Western Balkans 2019
- WB6 Ministers of Foreign Affairs
- V4 countries Ministers of Foreign Affairs
- Representative of EEAS, EC and of the Romanian Presidency of EU Council
- Western Balkans’ EU integration prospects and common European future were discussed
May 18, Warsaw
Preparatory meeting for the Western Balkans Summit in Poznan
- Representatives of WB6 Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Prime Ministers’ Offices
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- DG NEAR, RCC and OECD
- GIZ ORF EU Integration
- Agreements about the structure and the content of the Summit and side events
- Discussions about potential deliverables of the Summit
May 28-30, London
Joint Science Conference
- National Academies’ and Rectors’ Conferences of WB6 and member states participating in the Process
- Recommendations prepared for the Poznan Summit on responsibility of science in shaping social changes in the WB and SEE and better communication of scientific content in digital era
May 29, Warszaw
International conference: Western Balkans: infrastructure and energy from a geopolitical perspective
- Representatives of WB6 and EU governments
- Civil society organisations and think tanks from the WB6 and the EU
- Representatives of the Poland Summit Team and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland
- Expert debate on EU integration of the WB6 focusing on infrastructure and energy
Jun 3-4, Belgrade
Ministerial Meeting of the Western Balkans Platform on Education and Training
- Ministers of education of WB6
- DG EAC Commissioner
- State of WB6 educational systems and the latest EU initiatives were reviewed, reform priorities were identified and follow-up actions to deepen regional cooperation were agreed
Jun 4-6, Rzeszov
Forum of cities and regions investing in WB – Investing in Europe
- Representatives of WB6, DG NEAR, DG ENER, RCC
- Official representatives of Poland
- Networks of associations of local authorities of WB6 (NALAS) and of Poland and international experts
- Support for the Western Balkans in the process of European integration and economic transformation was discussed
- The Polish participants shared their experiences in IPA projects
- Territorial cooperation programmes 2020+ were discussed
Jun 12, Skopje
2nd Berlin Process Security Commitments Steering Group Meeting
- WB6 Security and Interior Ministers
- UK Summit team and Home office representatives
- Stocktaking of the commitments’ implementation
- Discussion on security sectors’ reforms
Participants:
- WB6 Prime Ministers, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior (and Security) and Economy
- Prime Ministers (and/or representatives) of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and United Kingdom
- Ministers (and/or representatives) of Foreign Affairs, Interior (and Security) and Economy of WB 6 and EU member states involved in the Berlin Process
- EU: HR of the EU Foreign Policy and Security Affairs, DG NEAR and DG MOVE Commissioners and other representatives of EU institutions
- International financial institutions
Topics:
- Economy
- Connectivity
- Security cooperation
- Corruption
- Environment and climate
Commitments:
- A new Connectivity package was put forward
- Letters of Intent were signed with international financial institutions to reinforce the WB EDIF by additional financial resources in support of the WB SMEs
- Action Plan for the implementation of the Regional Rail Strategy was put forward
- The EC announced new grants to support the development of national broadband networks and improve digital connectivity in WB6
- The EC launched a Guarantee Instrument under WBIF to leverage investments in sustainable development and regional integration
- Roma Integration Declaration was endorsed
- A joint Statement on “Clean Energy Transition in the Western Balkans” was endorsed
- The EC pledged to support the region’s efforts to develop a Green Agenda for the Western Balkans
- Memorandum on Cooperation Framework on the SEE International Institute for Sustainable Technologies was signed
Highlights
- The issues of regional cooperation, social-economic issues, the rule of law and the EU enlargement policy were discussed at the Think Tank Forum
- Fight against corruption, local democratisation initiatives, environment, hybrid threats, cultural cooperation and reconciliation were discussed at the Civil Society Forum
- The Civil Society Forum representatives presented recommendations for improving the state of democracy in the region, rule of law, bilateral issues, EU enlargement, media freedom and the future of the Berlin Process at the Meeting of the Berlin Process Foreign Ministers
Highlights
- REA MAP, workplace skills for the future, digital society in the WB, social entrepreneurship and energy market were discussed
Sep 29, New York
WB6 Ministers of Foreign Affairs
- HR of the EU Foreign Policy and Security Affairs
- DG NEAR Commissioner
- Continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue was supported
Picture: Tymon Markowski/MSZ