The first annual forecasting event “EU and Western Balkans in 2019”, organised by European Fund for the Balkans (EFB), Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) and European Western Balkans (EWB), will take place on 14 December in Belgrade, Serbia (Aeroklub, Uzun Mirkova 4)
This high-level event will gather more than 30 most influential opinion makers from the region and EU who will give their predictions about the trends and dynamics of policy developments in 2019. The aim of the discussionis is to exchange views and to make conclusions that could influence the political decisions in the upcoming turbulent year.
The event will have two parts: closed sessions and a public session. The closed sessions will have round table discussions between key experts, civil society representatives and journalists on possible policy developments in the EU and the Western Balkans in 2019. The discussions will be held using Chatham House rules, and the conclusions from the closed sessions will be published on the www.europeanwesternbalkans.com and will be distributed to target groups in the region and the EU.
The open session (15.00-16.30, December 14, 2018, Belgrade, Aeroklub) will represent a public discussion on the aforementioned topics, where the conclusions will be presented by the chairs of the two round tables. All participants will take part in the discussions within the closed sessions. Each session will have a chair, which will set the agenda and moderate the discussion.
What will post-election and post-Brexit EU look like? What could be predicted considering bilateral issues and regional cooperation in the Western Balkans? What trends the region could expect regarding the state of democracy, rule of law and media freedom? These are some of the topics to be discussed at expert round tables (Chatham House Rules) and presented at the afternoon public event.
Among others, participants of this event will be: Florian Bieber, Hedvig Morvai, Igor Bandovic, Fabian Zuleeg, Vedran Džihić, Sonja Stojanović Gajić, Peter Grk, Tena Prelec, Adnan Ćerimagić, Sonja Liht, Srđan Majstorović, Senada Šelo Šabić, Zoran Nechev and Marko Kmezić.
