25 October 2022
Cooperation and Development Institute joined the Meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs in the framework of the Western Balkans Summit, held in Berlin on 21 October. Organised by the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic, this meeting brought together foreign ministers from Berlin Process EU Member States, from Western Balkans 6, high-level officials from European Commission, from European External Action Service, Regional Cooperation Council, etc, together with representatives of WB6 think tanks and specialized CSOs.
The meeting started with an introduction and welcoming speech from Ms Annalena Baerbock, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany.
In quality of representative of the 2022 Berlin Process Civil Society Forum, Ms Simonida Kacarska (European Policy Institute) and Mr Ardian Hackaj (Cooperation and Development Institute) presented CSO forum recommendations.
In his intervention, amongst others, Mr Hackaj emphasized that “BP is the only such format that brings regularly together high-level politicians with representatives of WB6 think tanks and specialised CSOs. Think tanks and specialized CSO are a shaper of policies and projects, not only a watchdog. Specialised think tanks and CSO can provide much-needed expertise to the local institutions, as well as keep them transparent and accountable. Only transparent, accountable and well-governed institutions can be secure, reliable and efficient partners of the EU.
BP is a convergence engine for WB6 with the EU, where the boosters are the Economic and Investment Plan, with its EUR 30bn for growth and development; the Common Regional Market, with its harmonisation of rules as per EU standards; and the Green Agenda, with its transformative and growth power.
Specialized Think Tanks and CSO should engage in the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan, of the Common Regional Market and in the Green Agenda. This has resonated also at Tirana Connectivity Forum 2022 and at the recent Think Tank Forum in Prague.
Specialised WB6 CSO and Think Tanks also insist on our request of having observer status at the Western Balkans Investment Framework, as demanded in our 2021 Open Letter to EU Institutions”
The 2022 edition of the Berlin Process Civil Society and Think Tank Forum is being coordinated by Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft and Aspen Germany.
