Programme:

First day

8 a.m.                           Preparatory meeting with panel chairs

8.30 a.m.                      Registration of participants

9 a.m. – 9.30 a.m.        Welcome address

• Erion Veliaj, Mayor of Tirana

Inaugural session

Chair: Dilyana Slavova, President of the EESC’s External Relations Section

• Luca Jahier, EESC President
• Angelina Eichhorst, Director for Western Europe, Western Balkans and Turkey at the European External Action Service (EEAS)
• Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council

9.30 a.m. – 10.30 a.m.   First session: Assessment and perspectives of the relations between the EU and the Western Balkans

Chair: Dragica Martinović Džamonja, President of the EESC’s Western Balkans Follow-up Committee

• Colin Wolfe, Head of Unit for Western Balkans Regional Co-operation and Programmes, DG NEAR, European Commission
• Anja Bosilkova-Antovska, Policy and Advocacy Officer, Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN)
• Wieslaw Tarka, Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

10.30 a.m. – 11 a.m.      Coffee break and press conference

Second session: Regional cooperation – enhancing civil society participation

11 a.m. – 1 p.m.            Panel I: Trade and investment

Chair: Jacek Krawczyk, President of the EESC’s Employers’ Group

• Emir Djikic, Director, Central European Free Trade Agreement Secretariat
• Arbëresha Loxha, Senior Research Fellow, Group for Legal and Political Studies
• Safet Gërxhaliu, Secretary General, Chamber Investment Forum
• Danela Arsovska, President of the Macedonian Chambers of Commerce
• Vedad Vajzović, CEO Social Business “Greens”, Foundation MOZAIK

DISCUSSION

1 p.m. – 2.30 p.m.         Lunch at the invitation of the EESC

2.30 p.m. – 4.30 p.m.    Panel II: Connectivity

Chair: Pierre-Jean Coulon, President of the EESC’s Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN) Section

• Barbora Poyner, Communication Officer, Energy Community Secretariat
• Gentiola Madhi, Policy Researcher, Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso – Transeuropa
• Maja Handjuska Trendafilova, Senior Expert on Connectivity, Regional Cooperation Council
• Blerta Thaçi, Executive Director, Open Data Kosovo

DISCUSSION

4.30 p.m. – 4.45 p.m.     Coffee break

4.45 p.m. – 6.30 p.m.     Panel III: People to people relations – building bridges

Chair: Arno Metzler, President of EESC’s Diversity Europe Group

• Babis Papaioannou, UNESCO Youth Club of Thessaloniki
• Bojana Bulatović, Programme Officer, Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO)
• Dafina Beqiri, Program Manager, Western Balkans Fund
• Ugo Poli, Program Manager, Central European Initiative (CEI)

DISCUSSION

End of Day 1

6.30 p.m.          Cocktail offered by the Regional Cooperation Council Tirana International Hotel “La Pergola restaurant”

Second day

Third session: The situation of civil society in the Western Balkans

Parallel panels

9.00 a.m. – 11 a.m.        Panel I: The state of social dialogue in the Western Balkans

Chair: tbc

• Zhulieta Harasani, ILO National Coordinator for Albania
• Duško Vuković, Vice President of the Council of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS)
• Suzana Radulović, Secretary General, Montenegrin Employers Federation
• Edison Hoxha, Executive Director, Centre for Labour Relations, Albania

DISCUSSION

9.00 a.m. – 11 a.m.        Panel II: Achieving an enabling civic space (meeting room ABRETI)

Chair: Dilyana Slavova, President of the EESC’s External Relations Section

• Bojana Selaković, Program Director, Civic Initiatives
• Zorana Marković, Programme Assistant, Center for Development of NGOs
• Juliana Hoxha, Director, Partners Albania / National Resource Centre for Civil Society
• Slaviša Prorok, Project Manager, Centre for Promotion of Civil Society
• Marijan Denkovski, Representative of liberal profession from North Macedonia
• Peter Engel, Representative of liberal profession from the EU

DISCUSSION

11 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.     Coffee break

11.15 a.m. – 12 p.m.     Adoption of the final declaration

Chair: Dragica Martinović Džamonja, President of the EESC’s Western Balkans Follow-up Committee

• Presentation of the Forum conclusions

INFO: https://www.eesc.europa.eu/agenda/our-events/events/7th-western-balkans-civil-society-forum