This year’s Renew Europe Western Balkans Forum brought together liberals, democrats and experts for a two-day meeting in Brussels to discuss the opportunities and challenges the countries are facing on their path towards EU membership.
One message united all discussions last week’s forum: enlargement is a strategic necessity for Europe.
Former ALDE Party Co-President Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP (BG) spoke on enlargement’s importance:
“At a time of geopolitical challenges, all Alliances are being tested, and being part of a larger, stronger political entity matters more than ever. The Western Balkans countries belong in the EU. Candidate countries share the same strategic interests as Member States - stability, security, democracy and prosperity.”
Renew Europe regularly gathers liberals, democrats and representatives from partner parties in the Western Balkan countries to discuss enlargement. Their shared goal is to promote reforms, strengthen democratic resilience and uphold the rule of law across the region’s judicial systems.
Enlargement must be seen as a geopolitical priority, pursued alongside EU procedural reforms to ensure a sustainable expansion. The European Parliament Rapporteur on Enlargement, Petras Auštrevičius MEP (Liberalų Sąjūdis, LT) said:
“Democratic resilience must be maintained and constantly nurtured through joint efforts by the candidate countries and the EU, with the active involvement of civil society.”
“In light of the political and social processes within the EU and the candidate countries, the first Copenhagen criterion – namely, stable institutions that guarantee democracy, the rule of law and human rights – assumes greater significance as an unconditional commitment and prerequisite for further steps towards EU membership.”
Participants highlighted the key role of civil society, media and institutional reforms, calling for ongoing support for democratic actors. They emphasised further cooperation and a clear vision for the next generation of leaders in the integration process.
A more unified Europe will reinforce global influence through economic and political power. Helmut Brandstätter MEP (NEOS, AT), Renew Europe shadow rapporteur on Serbia concluded:
"The lessons learned from the past in the region are important, but let’s focus on our common European future and work together. The next generation of leaders is very courageous, and we support their efforts for dialogue, democracy, and reforms. We want to see our future EU members succeed.”
You can find pictures form the event here.