Lääne-Balkan

This page is also available in:

  • western balkan CSForum
    -

    The EESC organised its 9th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum in Holiday Inn Hotel Thessaloniki Monastiriou 8, Thessaloniki 546 29, Greece on 19 and 20 October 2023.

  • Hearing with CSOs of Kosovo*

    This years' meeting of the EESC's Western Balkans Follow-up Committee outside of Brussels took place on 29 March 2023 in Pristina, Kosovo, and it included a hearing with the local civil society organisations (CSOs).

    The goal of the hearing was to listen to the views on the role of civil society in Kosovo as well as to hear their concerns, and to convey these messages to the political authorities of Kosovo and of the EU.

    The following topics were discussed at the hearing:

    • 2023 European Year of Skills: skills, education and youth policy in Kosovo
    • State of social dialogue in Kosovo
    • Enabling civic space in Kosovo

    @EESC_REX #EESC_WB

    * This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

  • The EU-Serbia Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) held its 15th meeting on 21 April 2023 in Brussels, Belgium. It is a platform established within the institutional framework of the EU‑Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), enabling representatives of both the EU and the Serbian civil society to monitor the country's accession negotiations, discuss issues of common interest and point out concerns to be tackled on the Serbian path towards the European Union.

  • For the 16th time, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Montenegro held the Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC). The JCC is a civil society platform established between the EESC and Montenegrin civil society. It complements with a civil society point of view the EU institutional framework related to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Montenegro. This joint institution allows civil society organisations on both sides to monitor the country's accession negotiations. It is also a platform to discuss issues of common interest and to inform the public at large on the challenges ahead during the accession period.


     

    This 16th JCC took place in Podgorica and tackled issues such as:

    • Current state of play in EU-Montenegro relations, including 2022 Montenegro Report
    • Revised enlargement methodology – Cluster 1: The Fundamentals of the Accession Process, with a special focus on Judiciary and Fundamental rights and the Functioning of democratic institutions
    • Revised enlargement methodology – Cluster 1: The Fundamentals of the Accession Process, with a special focus on Justice, Freedom and Security
    • Overview of the civil society situation in Montenegro

    A joint declaration was adopted at the meeting and will be distributed to all relevant EU institutions, as well as to the Montenegrin authorities.

  • The EU-Serbia Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) will hold its 14th meeting on 29 November 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. It is a platform established within the institutional framework of the EU‑Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), enabling representatives of both the EU and the Serbian civil society to monitor the country's accession negotiations, discuss issues of common interest and point out concerns to be tackled on the Serbian path towards the European Union.

  • The Western Balkans Civil Society High-Level Conference brought together EESC members, civil society representatives from the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as Czech officials and members of organised civil society. The conference complemented the work the EESC has already been undertaking by organising the Western Balkans Civil Society Forum every two years since 2006.

    The main topics on the agenda were:

    • European path for the Western Balkans: Roadmap towards clear accession perspective and the role of young people
    • Contribution of civil society to youth policy in the Western Balkans: challenges and opportunities in building a better future for the Western Balkans and amplifying the voice of young people from the Western Balkans
    • Human capital development in the Western Balkans
    • Youth employment challenges in the Western Balkans
    • Young people in the Western Balkans as an important force in regional cooperation and promoting European integration

    @EESC_REX  #EESC_WB

  • Hearing with Civil Society from Bosnia and Herzegovina

    This years' meeting of the EESC's Western Balkans Follow-up Committee outside of Brussels took place on 24 May 2022 in the Delegation of the European Union in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and included a hearing with the civil society organisations (CSOs).

  • For the 15th time, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Montenegro held the Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC). It took place in Brussels and tackled issues such as: Current state of play in EU-Montenegro relations including 2021 Montenegro Report / Revised enlargement methodology – Cluster 1: The Fundamentals of the Accession Process, with a special focus on Economic Criteria, Public procurement, Statistics and Financial Control and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic / Overview of the civil society situation in Montenegro.

    A joint declaration was adopted at the meeting and distributed to all relevant EU institutions, as well as to the Montenegrin authorities.

  • It is a platform established within the institutional framework of the EU‑Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), enabling representatives of both the EU and the Serbian civil society to monitor the country's accession negotiations, discuss issues of common interest and point out concerns to be tackled on the Serbian path towards the European Union.

  • -

    Topics on the agenda: how to enhance the accession process – a credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans; the contribution of CSOs to the Green Agenda and sustainable development of the Western Balkans as part of the EU accession process; the state of social dialogue, as well as enabling civic space in the Western Balkans.
    @EESC_REX #EESC_WB