IED: Sarajevo Statement on Western Balkans
IED Conference, March 22, 2025, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
22.03.2025
In a pivotal discussion held in Sarajevo, in the presence of Željko Komšić, Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina - key stakeholders including national representatives, prime ministers, parliamentarians, and scholars convened to examine the evolving dynamics of the Western Balkans in relation to the European Union and the United States within the new European and global context. This gathering highlighted the strategic importance of the region and addressed pressing issues that are highly relevant in today's news landscape. The statements arising from this dialogue reflect a collective commitment to fostering stronger regional cooperation and navigating the complex geopolitical landscape effectively. These reflections are set to guide future policies and collaborations between the Western Balkans, the EU, and the USA.
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Western Balkans and the EU, Welcome Statement by Mr. Francesco Rutelli, IED President
Sarajevo Statement on Western Balkans
Western Balkans integration in European Union should be adapted to new global realities: Russian aggression in Ukraine and its security and political implications; the United-States of America shift and its negative impact in international relations; the fact that the Western Balkans have become an internal, but non-integrated Schengen territory, with numerous set-backs and problems.
In the new global constellation, with a dramatic change of US position and foreign policy, we need the EU to become a leader and decisive player in Europe, including the Western Balkans, as well as in the context of the future of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
Western Balkans needs the new EU management of the enlargement process, which has also become a question of geostrategic nature. EU should apply acceleration and obstruction measures in the enlargement process: reward states which show results in the EU agenda, and sanction politicians and political structures which oppose integration, endanger human rights and rule of law, democracy and security.
EU should support green grass movements - as the students’ and citizens’ demonstrations in Serbia - and show no appeasment to undenocratic regimes.
Western Balkans needs and deserves clear messages of support and encouragement, as the confirmation of its European prospective.
The negative and malign influences should not be ignored, since they represent the biggest security and political danger for the stability and European agenda itself. It’s, in fact, the choice in-between the integration into the EU, on one, and the prolongation of a long-standing regional and European crisis, on the other side.
Signed by the participants and the IED