Commissioner, MEPs and Ministers gather to promote regional cooperation in the Balkans

The European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, along with several national Ministers from across the Western Balkans and Members of the European Parliament, gathered in Brussels to discuss and promote regional cooperation in the context of the enlargement agenda, its challenges and recent achievements. The High Level Conference, which took place on May 6, 2015, was organised by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in cooperation with the Representation of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the EU and the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB). The event was carried out in front of a Brussels-based audience, including EP, EC, EEAS, GSC, diplomatic missions, think-tanks, civil society organisations and the business community, and was covered by media across Southeast Europe. Keynote speakers were Mr. Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations and Mr. Ditmir Bushati, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Albania, Chair-in-Office of SEECP. The keynote speeches were followed by two panel discussions, one on Enlargement, Economic Growth and Governance, and the other on Connectivity, with the participation of Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the Western Balkans, MEPs, DG NEAR and think-tank representatives. Prior to the high-level panels, the Regional Cooperation Day presented the Balkan Barometer and, during the lunch break, a mini concert by “Les femmes des Balkans” (Amira Medunjanin, Tamara Obrovac and Biljana Krstic) performing the best of ethno-music from the region. There was also an exhibition of posters of rehabilitated monuments in Southeast Europe, which participated in the Ljubljana Process II – Rehabilitating our Common Heritage, managed by the RCC Task Force Culture and Society. The lunchtime programme showed that culture is a regional asset and a significant contribution to economic development and reconciliation.