BALKANS – Boosting connections on the road to the EU – SESSION III

The EU has pledged to continue membership negotiations with countries in the Western Balkans. But the region faces many challenges, including lack of progress in restructuring the economic model to ensure that all countries are functioning market economies driven by export and investments rather than import and consumption. Improving connectivity in the Western Balkans is also a key factor, not only in boosting economic growth and fostering job opportunities for youth but also in forging better neighbourly relations with the EU, despite the perils of radicalisation. Is the long road to membership a vision or a reality? With some of the Balkans’ top politicians and decision-makers in attendance, we debated ways of further re-energising the region’s myriad connections with the EU at a 'European Policy Summit' event on 7 December 2016 in Brussels. SESSION III - Migration, youth, jobs and the perils of radicalisation The flow of refugees and migrants through the so-called “Balkans route” may have eased in recent months but the crisis has been a vivid reminder of the crucial role played by the Western Balkans in tackling immigration and human trafficking. The region has also seen a rise in radicalisation of young people and a high number of fighters going to join the so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Meanwhile, prime ministers of the Western Balkans have signed up to establishing a Regional Youth Cooperation Office to fund projects that enhance youth cooperation, diversity, regional mobility and reconciliation as well as promoting opportunities for professional qualifications. The focus on young people is important for a region where a lack of opportunities has resulted in youth unemployment figures of over 50 per cent in many countries and also prompted a heavy brain-drain across the region. Now that the crisis has eased on the so-called “Balkans route”, what is the state of cooperation between the EU and the Western Balkans on questions related to immigration and refugees? What is being done to counter the rise in radicalisation by implementing better policies in areas such as education and job-creation and just how can the EU help the Western Balkans in this struggle? What are the main priorities of the new Regional Youth Cooperation Office and how will it operate in practice? Đorđe Bojović, Head of Programme Department at European Grassroots Antiracist Movement Valon Murtezaj, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kosovo¹ Doris Pack, President of the Robert Schuman Institute in Budapest and Chair of the European Parliament Committee for Culture and Education (2009-2014) Alida Vračić, Executive Director of the Think tank Populari, Bosnia and Herzegovina Rastislav Vrbensky, Manager of the Istanbul Regional Hub for Europe and the CSI of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)