Projects
Start date: 01/09/2024
End date: 30/06/2025
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
The contribution of Communities of Practice for the European Integration of the Balkans (CoP – CET)
The project explores how Communities of Practice born out of the implementation of Interreg projects and participation in EUSAIR policy fora can further the European integration of the Western Balkans. EU enlargement has returned to the center of the European political agenda as a geostrategic project for the security of the continent, but without active involvement of the territories it is unlikely to come to fruition. In addition to the already earmarked IPAIII funds, in early 2024 the EU introduced the Western Balkans Growth Investment Plan, allocating six billion euros to support the candidates' internal reform processes. At the same time, the European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) and the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) also provide resources for innovation and sustainable development, actively involving the territories. The project is implemented in collaboration with CeSPI - Center for International Policy Studies.
Start date: 01/03/2024
End date: 28/02/2026
Funder: European Union (DG CONNECT)
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
PULSE – Europe beyond the beat
PULSE - Europe beyond the beat è un'iniziativa giornalistica transnazionale che adotta un approccio collaborativo alla produzione editoriale. PULSE riunisce 10 importanti media nazionali e 3 organizzazioni mediatiche transnazionali (OBCT, n-ost, Voxeurop) unite nella missione di promuovere la sfera pubblica europea. In due anni, saranno pubblicate oltre 2.000 storie in diversi formati e in almeno 12 lingue per raccontare gli affari europei da prospettive nuove e molteplici e dedicando particolare attenzione a Paesi, regioni e gruppi sociali sotto-rappresentati, tra cui le aree rurali, i Paesi UE medio-piccoli, le minoranze.
Start date: 01/01/2024
End date: 30/06/2025
Funder: Unione europea
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
MigraVoice: Migrant Voices Matter in the European Media
"MigraVoice: Migrant Voices Matter in the European Media" is a project co-funded by the European Union, in collaboration with six prominent European media organisations. The project aims to amplify the voices and perspectives of migrants in Europe within the European media and information space, by promoting active participation of individuals with migration backgrounds in the creation of high-quality media content for European audiences in both traditional and social media formats. Migravoice represents a crucial step towards fostering inclusivity, diversity, and authenticity in journalism and the media content that Europeans consume. By empowering those with a migration background to share their perspectives, MigraVoice not only enriches the media landscape but also contributes to a more vibrant and inclusive European society.
Start date: 01/12/2021
End date: 31/12/2025
Funder: European Union
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
FIRE-RES Innovative Technologies and Socio-Ecological-Economic Solutions for FIRE RESilient Territories in Europe
Due to climate change, large forest fires are becoming an increasingly serious threat in many regions of Europe. The multi-year project FIRE-RES – an acronym that stands for "Innovative technologies and socio-ecological-economic solutions for fire resilient territories in Europe" aims to develop and disseminate effective solutions to prevent and manage fires of extreme magnitude, intervening on many levels and in different phases. It is co-financed by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 programme and is coordinated by the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia; 34 organisations from 13 countries participate, including OBC Transeuropa. In addition to journalistic content, OBCT contributes with dissemination, training, and awareness-raising campaigns, thanks to its growing experience in the field of communication of scientific research and journalism on environmental issues.
Start date: 01/10/2023
End date: 30/06/2024
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
New Visions for the Western Balkans – 2
The EU and the Western Balkans are in the process of preparing for new EU enlargements. To this end, the EU has just adopted a New Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, that is supposed to increase their participation in the European Single Market. This intermediate step towards EU membership should open new opportunities of economic cooperation for both public and private actors, sustain Western Balkans’ internal reforms, as well as accelerate their path towards full integration in the EU. At the same time, the Western Balkans are expected to start contributing more substantially to the economic and geopolitical security of the EU, to deal with increasingly complex regional and global environments. Nonetheless, progresses of the EU enlargement will also remain conditional to the success of EU internal reforms, to make its policies, budget and institutions fit for an enlarged Union.
Start date: 01/07/2023
End date: 30/06/2025
Funder: European Union
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative
The Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative (CIJI) supports independent media and freelance journalists in Europe through training, mentoring, funding and the exchange of knowledge and best practices. It also provides structured networking opportunities to strengthen collaborative and investigative journalism in Europe.
Start date: 01/01/2024
End date: 31/12/2024
Funder: InCE
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Exchange programme on Chapter 22 of the acquis
Chapter 22 deals with Regional Policy and expects candidate countries to align their national legislation with the European acquis regarding structural and cohesion funds, with the aim to foster economic, social, and territorial development of less developed regions. The implementation of the Regional Policy requires adequate administrative capacity for the proper use of financial instruments and the implementation of related projects.
Focusing on the planning phase of the Cohesion Policy, OBCT together with ISSiRFA CNR is carrying out two projects aimed at promoting training and exchange of know-how and expertise with the national authorities of four Balkan countries candidate to the European Union.
Start date: 04/12/2023
End date: 30/11/2024
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Transnational Advocacy for Freedom of Information in the Western Balkans – ATLIB
Media freedom, independence, and pluralism are fundamental pillars of European democracies. Freedom of speech and journalists' safety is crucial for countries such as Albania and Serbia that aspire to join the EU. Thanks to the cooperation with two local partners, this project intends to contribute to creating a network of Balkan, Italian, and European actors engaged in effective advocacy to protect media freedom in the EU and the two countries involved in the integration process.
Start date: 01/10/2023
End date: 30/09/2024
Funder: European Union
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Energy4Future
Cohesion policy is the European Union’s main tool for promoting economic growth and social welfare, by achieving a more homogeneous level of development across its territories and by particularly stimulating less developed and depressed regions. In 2021-2023, we have illustrated through the Work4Future project the challenges faced by South-Eastern European regions and the initiatives promoted thanks to cohesion funds. Building on this experience, we continue our engagement with the Energy4Future project that aims to explore and narrate the support that cohesion funds provide to counter energy crisis and energy poverty and by stimulating energy transition at the European level.
OBC Transeuropa contributes to the Energy4Future project together with Il Sole 24 Ore , ISSiRFA/CNR and PressOne.
Start date: 01/11/2023
End date: 31/10/2025
Funder: UE
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)
The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors, and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. This project provides legal and practical support, public advocacy, and information to protect journalists and media workers.
Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) takes part in the MFRR as partner of a consortium led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and including ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and the International Press Institute (IPI).
Start date: 01/04/2023
End date: 31/03/2025
Funder: European Union
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
EDJNet – European Data Journalism Network
The European Data Journalism Network – EDJNet is a new data-driven endeavour aimed at supporting European journalists in the coverage of European issues, and at providing the general public with valuable editorial tools for better understanding Europe. EDJNet has been set up by a consortium of European media outlets led by Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (Italy) and VoxEurop (France). For three years, EDJNet transnational board will produce data-driven news in up to 12 languages, develop automated tools to increase newsrooms’ productivity and exploit existing data-driven resources, and provide tailored, on-demand advice on data-journalism applied to EU affairs. From October 2017, the content and services produced by EDJNet are available for free through a specific multilingual and open source website www.edjnet.eu, and on EDJNet partners’ own website.
Start date: 01/10/2023
End date: 30/06/2024
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Context and crisis scenario analysis in Moldova and Transnistria
Transnistria is the longest-lasting ongoing protracted conflict in continental Europe. For more than thirty years after the violent events of 1992, this region internationally recognised as part of Moldova has been ruled by de facto authorities in Tiraspol without attracting much international attention. From the socio-economic point of view, stability in Transnistria has largely been enabled by considerable assistance offered by the Russian Federation through different means, including a scheme known as the “gas subsidy” which relies on Gazprom providing gas to the region effectively free of charge. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, may well end up shaking irremediably some of the foundations that gave remarkable stability to the current arrangement. On 31 December 2024, the five-year deal that covers the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine towards Europe is due to end, and, in all likelihood, it won’t be renewed. An abrupt end to the Russia-sponsored gas supply would disrupt the prevalent socio-economic arrangements in Transnistria virtually overnight.
This project reports on conflict dynamics and offers context and scenario analyses in order to favour policies able to prevent crises, or at least mitigate their consequences.
Start date: 13/12/2023
End date: 15/12/2023
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
EU-Balkan Youth Forum – second edition
From 13 to 15 December 2023, the second edition of the EU-Balkan Youth Forum will take place in Serbia, an event dedicated to young people from the European Union and the Western Balkans who will meet for three days in Novi Sad and try to answer the question "Western Balkans Future: how can YOUth shape Europe?”
On the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the second edition of the Forum is organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (Sarajevo) with the support of OBCT.
Start date: 01/09/2023
End date: 30/06/2024
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
CORE: Regional Cooperation in the Western Balkans
Regional cooperation is a pillar of the stabilisation and association process of the Western Balkan countries, and has been considered as an opportunity to overcome the existing divisions between the civil societies in these countries. Over the past two decades, the number of regional cooperation initiatives has increased significantly, while the enlargement process has slowed down. The project seeks to improve the understanding of regional cooperation mechanisms and initiatives that contribute to the European integration agenda of the six Western Balkan countries, in order to be able to further strengthen the virtuous paths. The research work aims to identify and analyse the existing regional cooperation initiatives in the region, comparing them to the empirical analysis of the Berlin Process experience. In addition, the project intends to explore the reasons for the success of the Berlin Process and the role played by the political elites and the European Commission in realising its intended goals.
Start date: 01/11/2022
End date: 30/04/2024
Funder: InCE
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Programming the EU Cohesion Policy: Exchange Program on Chapter 22 in Serbia and Montenegro
The project “Programming the EU Cohesion Policy: Exchange Program on Chapter 22 in Serbia and Montenegro” is financed by the Know-how Exchange Program – KEP program of the Central European Initiative (CEI) and will be implemented by the u.o. OBCT in cooperation with the “Massimo Severo Giannini” Institute for Studies on Regional, Federal and Autonomous Systems – National Research Council (ISSiRFA-CNR).
The objective is to contribute to the preparation of the two candidate countries for accession to the EU, in particular in terms of the implementation of European cohesion policy and the management of the related structural funds, aspects which require adequate administrative and financial management skills necessary for the planning and implementation of projects.
Start date: 01/10/2022
End date: 30/04/2023
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
WESTERN BALKANS 2030: Accession, Regional Cooperation and Security
The Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), with the assistance and sponsorship of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and under strategic partnership with the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, organised the high-level closed-door conference “New Visions for the Western Balkans: EU Accession and Regional Security”, held on 3 and 4 April 2023 at the Farnesina. The proceedings were opened by Antonio Tajani, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and Tobias Billström, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, which holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Speeches followed from the foreign ministers of the six Balkan countries, who provided insights for the debates and interventions by leading experts from international organisations, institutions and civil societies. Contributions ranged from the prospects for future integration of the region into the EU, to the progress of the regional integration process, and the security challenges of the region in the current geopolitical context.
Report of the conference “New Visions for the Western Balkans: EU Accession and Regional Security”, organised in Rome on 3-4 April 2023
Start date: 01/09/2022
End date: 29/09/2023
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Text as data & data in the text
The research project builds on the growing practice of data processing based on textual analysis. Through this methodology, it aims to facilitate the provision of structured analyses of online content related to conflicts in the post-Soviet area by granting access to tools and datasets on the topic. Focusing on the current conflict situation, the project seeks to gather data useful for more informed analyses of ongoing dynamics and the situation in areas of Ukraine not controlled by Kyiv, using text mining techniques. Another objective of the project is to disseminate systematic analysis methodologies of online sources in conflict contexts among researchers. In pursuing its goals, the project will produce dataset publications, technical reports, posts and short articles, presentations, and a proposal for a scientific publication on the subject. The project is funded by MAECI.
Start date: 01/10/2022
End date: 15/02/2023
Funder: Fondazione Caritro
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Grande Guerra: L’Europa in Trentino e l’incontro con l’Altro
The project, supported by the Caritro Foundation, aims to explore a particular historical experience of encounters between Trentino and Southeastern and Central-Eastern Europe. The testimonies of World War I in Trentino are rich in relationships with people from distant lands, bringing diverse languages, cultures, and religions, who were transferred to the Italian-Austrian front as soldiers, workers, and prisoners of war. The project seeks to recover the memory of these encounters to enhance awareness of the opportunities and complexities that have shaped the history of European multiculturalism. It particularly focuses on the relationships established with Bosnian soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army and, building on a previous OBC Transeuropa project, with Russian, Serbian, and Romanian prisoners of war who inhabited the Trentino valleys by the thousands during those years. Overall, the project intends to consolidate more open and inclusive approaches to the experience of World War I, highlighting transnational contacts, connections, and shared experiences while combining different scales of analysis.
See the page (ITA): Grande Guerra L Europa in Trentino e l incontro con l Altro
Start date: 01/10/2022
End date: 30/09/2023
Funder: InCE
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitution and EU Accession
The international and local academic community in the last years has taken actively part in the debates on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) costitutional changes sharing expertise and advice. Nevertheless currently in BiH there is still limited public discussion on the constitutional impact of the integration path towards the EU. The EC Opinion on BiH’s future accession and the 25th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement have brought constitutional issues back to the fore. In this context the promotion of a free academic debate, among scholars from all parts of the country, a culture of dialogue, respect and cooperation, is fundamental to contribute to the public discussion stimulating it with academic expertise on issues of priority for the political agenda. OBC Transeuropa will, in this section, publish in Italian, BHS and English, the articles and papers produced by the network of scholars “Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitution and EU Accession. An Academic Platform for Discussing the Options” .
See the page: Bosnia and Herzegovina the Constitution and EU Accession
Start date: 01/09/2022
End date: 30/06/2023
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Serbia e Bosnia Erzegovina, la guerra in Ucraina e i nuovi scenari di rischio nei Balcani occidentali
The repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the Western Balkans are evident: the spike in tensions between the Euro-Atlantic bloc and the Russian Federation has introduced new elements of concern and uncertainty regarding security scenarios in the region, particularly in countries marked by deep internal and geopolitical divisions such as Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The aim of the research project "Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the war in Ukraine and new risk scenarios in the Western Balkans" is to provide original tools for understanding, as well as insights and recommendations on the priorities to be pursued in the two countries in order to address the demand for stability and to revive their European prospects in the context of a new devastating conflict on European soil.
Start date: 01/09/2020
End date: 02/03/2024
Funder: European Union
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Transnational Political Contention in Europe (TraPoCo)
OBC Transeuropa takes part in the 3-year research project “Transnational Political Contention in Europe (TraPoCo)", dedicated to the study of trans-European political activism under the Jean Monnet action of the Erasmus+ programme.
The network, led by the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa with Professor Donatella Della Porta – chair of Political and Social Sciences, comprises three universities (University of Belgrade, University College Dublin, Boku University-Vienna) as well as OBC Transeuropa and NGO The Good Lobby.
Start date: 01/12/2021
End date: 30/03/2023
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Climate change, environmental risk, and social mobilization in the Balkans
The project aims to identify, analyze, and connect those entities in the Western Balkans engaged in environmental protection and responding to the effects of climate change, with a focus on air pollution in the major Balkan cities. Facilitating the strengthening of an international network, through the exchange of practices and peer-to-peer capitalization, represents an opportunity to ensure the region's environmental security, enhancing the role of existing entities and enabling them to collaborate.
The action-research is carried out by CeSPI and OBC Transeuropa and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
Vedi la pagina: Cambiamenti climatici rischio ambientale e mobilitazione sociale nei Balcani
Start date: 01/12/2021
End date: 30/11/2022
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Human capital mobility in and from the Balkans: when innovation manages to curb brain drain
The aim of the project is to promote understanding of the issue and foster exchanges between actors, both Italian and from the region, in order to address the problem of human capital flight in the Balkans and ensure greater dialogue and security. Specifically, the project tackles the issue of low youth employment in the Western Balkans. This leads to a loss of human capital and increases the risk that unemployed young people may fall into forms of radicalization and violent extremism.
The project is carried out by CeSPI and OBC Transeuropa and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
Start date: 01/12/2021
End date: 30/06/2022
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Le comunità di italiani nell’Europa sudorientale: status culturale ed economico, ruolo delle donne e sviluppo sostenibile
The project aims to investigate the identity and cultural dynamics of recent history and the current cultural status and economic role of Italian communities in lesser-known settlement areas of Southeastern Europe such as Slavonia and Moslavina (Croatia), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Romania, with particular attention to the role of women and within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The project is coordinated by the Institute for Minority Rights of Eurac Research and carried out with the contribution of the Unit for Analysis, Planning, Statistics, and Historical Documentation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, pursuant to Article 23-bis of Presidential Decree 18/1967. The partnership also involves, in addition to the Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa, the associations Bellunesi nel Mondo and Trentini nel Mondo.
Video recording of the webinar: "Le comunità di italiani nell’Europa sudorientale"
Start date: 22/11/2021
End date: 26/11/2021
Funder: MAECI
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
EU-Balkan Youth Forum
In collaboration with the MAECI from 22 to 26 November 2021 we curated the EU-BALKAN YOUTH FORUM event dedicated to young people from the countries of the European Union and the Western Balkans: to discuss together proposals for the future of Europe and the integration of Balkans in the EU.">In collaboration with the MAECI from 22 to 26 November 2021 we curated the EU-BALKAN YOUTH FORUM event dedicated to young people from the countries of the European Union and the Western Balkans: to discuss together proposals for the future of Europe and the integration of Balkans in the EU.
Start date: 01/08/2021
End date: 31/12/2021
Funder: Central European Initiative - Executive Secretariat
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Giovani nei Balcani, resistere alla pandemia
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought health systems to their knees all over the world, particularly affecting the elderly. But in the Balkans, the ensuing economic and social crisis has often had shocking – and hard to ignore – effects on young people as well. In this dossier, produced with the support of the Central European Initiative - Executive Secretariat , we take stock of the first year and a half of the pandemic, and explore the post-Covid recovery scenarios for young people in Central and South-Eastern Europe.
Start date: 01/10/2021
End date: 30/09/2023
Funder: Unione europea
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Work4Future: Cohesion policy in Italy and South-East Europe
Cohesion policy, for decades now, has been one of the main instruments of the European Union for promoting economic growth and achieving a more homogeneous level of development across all EU territories, stimulating in particular less developed and depressed regions. The funds set aside for cohesion policy represent almost a third of the total EU budget (392 billion Euros for 2021-2027).
The territories supported by these funds are often vulnerable in a variety of ways, but that doesn’t mean they are not rich in opportunities. Quite the contrary. Thanks to the project Work4Future, we will have the opportunity, using a bottom-up approach, to explore and tell these territories and challenges they face in all countries of South Eastern Europe which are members of the EU, from the valleys of Slovenia to the islands of Greece, focusing particulary on the impact of cohesion policy on employment opportunities.
OBC Transeuropa contributes to the project Work for Future together with Il Sole 24 Ore and ISSiRFA/CNR .
See the pages::
Work4future -home The European islands from the margins to the spotlight Between Slovenia and Italy an area that rediscovers itself as a territory Cohesion goes East Cross border programmes starting over together Adriatic tourism and more Can work be green in the East too Connected and cohesive The Balkans at the forefront
Start date: 01/07/2021
End date: 30/11/2021
Funder: InCE
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
Youth and Civil Society in the Western Balkans
The project, co-financed by the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, explores the role of civil society and youth organizations in the EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans, analyzing developments since the 2017 Trieste Forum organized within the framework of the Berlin Process.
The project is conducted in partnership by OBC Transeuropa and CeSPI.
Vedi la pagina Giovani e società civile nei Balcani Occidentali
Start date: 01/07/2021
End date: 31/10/2023
Funder: Open Society Foundations
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
DJAS
The DJAS project (Digital Public Sphere: Journalism in the Age of Surveillance) explores the impact of the surveillance society on Italian journalism. By involving institutions, bodies, and professional organisations as well as the public itself, DJAS intends to encourage the journalistic community to reflect on the changes being introduced by the surveillance society.
The project is funded by the Horizon 2020 European research programme and by the Open Society Institute in cooperation with OSIFE/ Open Society Foundations.
Start date: 01/12/2020
End date: 31/05/2021
Funder: InCE
Operational unit: OBC Transeuropa
The Balkan Route 5 Years Later
The project aims to explore the main aspects of the so-called "Balkan route," focusing on the situation in the countries most affected by the transit of migrants and on the most exposed borders (Turkey/Greece; Turkey/Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia; Italy/Slovenia). The research, conducted in partnership by OBCT and CeSPI, will take a multi-perspective approach to examine the characteristics and evolution of the "Balkan route," and then investigate how migration is managed in the countries under study—from Turkey to the Italian-Slovenian border—and the impact of these policies both domestically and on international relations. This will be achieved by combining analysis of available sources with qualitative interviews of key witnesses.
