The “Civil Society & Think Tank Forum I: Road to Berlin” gathered experts, think-tankers, and civil society representatives from the Western Balkan economies to debate a wide range of challenges in the region jointly, within various working groups.

The event started with a discussion on the achievements and the outlook of the Berlin Process, which was organized by the German Government. The Forum was opened by a video message of the Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office Michael Roth, who said that the “Civil Society Forum is the essence of the Berlin Process”.

After the opening remarks the first panel discussion, Eight Years of Berlin Process: Achievements and Outlook, reviewed the intentions and expectations of the Berlin Process. For instance:

Michela Matuella, Acting Director for the Western Balkans at the European Commission’s DG NEAR, stated that the Commission had always seen the Berlin Process as an instrument for high-level political dialogue and had been supportive of it. She highlighted the regular meetings of the regional leaders as one of the biggest achievements of the process, which was a considerable change compared to pre-2014 atmosphere, when the first Summit was held in Berlin.

Tanja Miščević, Deputy Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, also compared the current situation to the beginning of the process, saying that now there was much more local ownership from the Western Balkans than the region could have imagined in 2014.

The first day of the Civil Society Forum also featured panels on reconciliation, the Green Agenda and the Connectivity Agenda, as well as working groups on various regional topics.

Among the topic of the working groups there were: Addressing Legacies of the Past and Regional Confidence Building, The Role of the Civil Society in Strengthening Democracy, Countering Disinformation and Strengthening Media Independence, as well as The Future of the EU in the Western Balkans.

The conclusions of the working groups were put in the spotlight and discussed with government representatives throughout the second conference, the “Civil Society & Think Tank Forum II: Berlin 2021”, which coincided with the Berlin Process Summit.

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