Pahor: EU reform and accelerated Western Balkans enlargement a geopolitical necessity

(Patria) - The III International Conference of the Friends of the Western Balkans Institute and the Nizami Ganjavi International Centre, titled "The Western Balkans in the Vortex of Security Geopolitics," is being held today and tomorrow in Ljubljana. 35 speakers from 24 countries are participating, further confirming this conference as a traditional and increasingly significant reference gathering in the region and the wider international arena.

The conference has once again brought together top speakers – from former and current statesmen, to special envoys for the Western Balkans, to foreign policy decision-makers and leading experts in geopolitics and European and Western Balkan policies. The discussions focus on the consequences of changed security circumstances in Europe and the world, as well as their impact on the future of the European Union and its enlargement process.

The conference was officially opened by a speech from Borut Pahor, former President of the Republic of Slovenia, founder and director of the Friends of the Western Balkans Institute. He was followed by former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and former Serbian President Boris Tadić. In their opening addresses, they emphasized the importance of political stability, security, and a credible European perspective for the Western Balkans in increasingly complex global circumstances.

Former President Pahor stated:

"The time has come to understand the need to change the enlargement strategy towards the Western Balkans as a geopolitical necessity, which is not possible without changes within the European Union itself. This requires strong and clear political will for EU changes towards a stronger union internally and externally (towards a United States of Europe), which, with an ambitious enlargement policy, occupies a space that can and must be its own, otherwise it can lose it. At this moment, the positive aspect is that negotiations on Montenegro's imminent accession are truly moving forward, but the Western Balkans will be neither peaceful nor developed until it is fully under the European flag."

Pahor concluded his address with a proposal: "Therefore, I propose a bold, but not too daring, strategy: that in 2030, referendums on EU membership be held in all candidate countries in the region, and by then, the EU itself must prepare for this step."

The first thematic discussion was dedicated to the new security geopolitics and its impact on the European Union and further enlargement. Introductory presentations were given by former Presidents of Poland and Bulgaria, Andrzej Duda and Rosen Plevneliev, high representatives of the Council of Europe, the European Commission, as well as special envoys from France, Italy, and Slovenia for the Western Balkans, and recognized experts in the fields of foreign policy, security, and defense. The discussion was moderated by Volkan Bozkır, former President of the United Nations General Assembly and former chief negotiator for Turkey's EU accession.

One of the key special features of this year's conference is that, for the first time, the political and security situations, as well as the reform processes for EU membership, are systematically and separately examined for each of the six Western Balkan countries individually. This approach allows for a deeper insight into the specific challenges and dynamics of individual countries in the region.

The aim of this international conference is to foster open, substantive, and inclusive dialogue on the future of the Western Balkans in a time of major geopolitical changes. The conference began yesterday with a reception attended by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, as the guest of honor, who spoke about the situation in the Western Balkans and the world.