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​Security and stability in the Balkans on path to EU membership

On 6-7 April the NATO Defense College Foundation organised the conference "Balkan Networks and Stability - Connecting Co-operative and human security" in Rome.
 
The conference focused on the current situation in the Balkan region where recent bilateral and internal tensions are raising new concerns about the path to EU accession. The influence of new geopolitical players and the faint trust in the solutions offered by the EU in order for the Western Balkans 6 to catch up from an economic and social point of view were deeply examined by many high-standing representatives of the region and of NATO Member States. Former ministers, representatives of the European Commission and regional organisations, including the RCC and the CEI as well as specialised scholars of respected think-tanks worldwide animated four panel discussions.
 
The subjects of the panels focused on: reconnecting the political discourse and security networks within a multilateral context; the evolution of the security landscape in the time of structural migration flows; the challenge marked by criminal networks, small arms proliferation, illegal trafficking and terrorist groups; how NATO and EU can better combine their role as security providers; the Russian influence and the different national positions; the evaluation of NATO integration policy in a changing political climate affected by populist trends both in the EU and in the candidate countries; the establishment of a new narrative of the European unification in the SEE.
 
Italian State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Vincenzo Amendola, delivered the final remarks.
 
The event co-financed by the CEI Cooperation Fund was also supported by the NATO Defense College, the NATO Public Diplomacy Division and the Balkan Trust for Democracy.

For more information: poli@cei.int
  • Video of event available here


 

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