The event is becoming a key platform in this part of Europe for exchanging views and for in-depth discussion on the most pressing issues currently concerning not only international relations, but also society as a whole, as pointed out by Andrej Logar -  State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia - at the event's conclusion.

The various panel debates focused on the future of the EU and the elements that link us together, on joint global action for a sustainable future, on climate change, the digital transformation of societies, mediation in a new multipolar world, cybersecurity, the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the fate of humans in a technological era, and the future of the Western Balkans.

The Young BSF, preceding the conference in Bled, gathered over 70 young leaders from 30 different countries and took a closer look at the sustainable security and its inherent components through 6 lectures and 6 workshop on different locations in Ljubljana.

On second day, The European Fund for the Balkans and its Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group together with Riko organised the session “Western Balkans: Lost Years or New Hope?”.  The EU enlargement process has always been a political process. Despite the technical benchmarks, monitoring missions, evaluations and progress reports, it took only one sentence from the President of the European Commission five years ago to raise doubt and fear about belief in the enlargement policy and the Western Balkans. After several years of uncertainty, it again took only one sentence from the same President to revive hope and enthusiasm in the region, which in the past was much more concerned about having a positive external appearance than internal reforms. This hope was translated into concrete language with a new strategy on enlargement; new tasks have been divided among the countries of the region, and uncertainty has been replaced by actual dates for enlargement. The debate focused on the lost years of slow progress and readiness level of the political elites to embark on this road.

All event sessions were webstreamed. Some of the most interesting ones are available at following links: