As the years continue to go by, the topic of the relationship between the European Union and the Western Balkans, including conversations such as integration and youth policy, will continue to be a relevant point of discussion within the greater European discourse.

On July 1, 2021, at the Hotel Metropol in Belgrade, Serbia, a regional conference will be held that seeks to cover exactly this, among other things, known as the “EU and the Western Balkans: Towards Renewed Trust” conference (though it will be a hybrid with Zoom). This conference is the concluding event of the “Regional Youth Compact for Europe” (RYCE) project, which has been going on for three years now, funded by the European Union and coordinated by the Center for Democracy Foundation (CDF).

Attendants of the conference include 13 partners from across various organizations and networks, notably ALDA and other Western Balkan partners. There will be three panels, all covering some aspect of relations between the EU and the Western Balkans and create a productive dialogue. The range of the panelists is fairly wide, and relevant topics will be discussed.

The topic of the first panel will be the present relationship between the societies of the Western Balkans and the European Union. The topic of the second panel is the expectations of young people when it comes to the potential outlooks of European Integration, including the presentation of research dedicated to the topic. Lastly, the third panel will bring together representatives from the local organizations of 3 Western Balkan countries in order to discuss local-level Democracy and Civic initiatives.

 It is trusted that this conference will be a productive culmination of the past 3 years of the RYCE project that presents the results and creates discussion among those involved when it comes to such matters between the regions.