By EWB Archives – 24.04.2017

In anticipation of the Civil Society Forum Tirana, which will be held on 26-28 April, we present you with an op-ed by Ardian Hackaj from the Cooperation and Development Institute, the organization hosting the event.

Civil society role in regional cooperation

“Regional cooperation shall also include the civil society level” stated the Final Declaration of the Chair of the Conference on the Western Balkans in Berlin, in August 2014. The statement of expectations from civil society opened the way for a more structured contribution coming from the WB6 non-governmental sector. Furthermore, by emphasizing the role of an active civil society and of its constructive support in the further enhancement of democracy in the Western Balkans, the German presidency gave institutional legitimacy to the expected input of local civil society organizations in this process.

As a result, the Berlin process has given a new impetus to regional cooperation amongst WB6 civil society organizations, and to the dialogue between civil society and politicians. From this angle, Tirana CSF of 26-28 April 2017 is designed to promote and nourish the dialogue between citizens and policy-makers. More than 100 participants coming from the region and EU will contribute to the discussions. Forum’s conclusions and recommendations will be presented in the Trieste Summit of the Heads of State and Governments, on July 12th. As such, this event marks a very important step in the empowerment of the Balkan civil society through its inclusion in the early stage of regional decision-making process.

Berlin Process and peoples’ connectivity

Berlin process stands aside from the 71 existing WB6 regional cooperation initiatives because of the prominent place it reserves for the civil society. Thanks to it, regional civil society forums (prior to Tirana, CSF gathered in Vienna, Belgrade and Skopje) have become a permanent fixture of regional cooperation scene. Owing to them, the concept of people’s connectivity is gaining traction and is becoming more visible as a strategic component of regional cooperation, and of the EU Enlargement strategy.

To be in step with the political agenda of the Trieste Summit and for maximum impact, Tirana CSF debates will be focused around the priorities of the Italian Presidency: youth cooperation, rule of law & anti-corruption, small & medium enterprises networking & support, and bilateral issues. In Tirana for the first time CSO, politicians, MP, MEP, member states, EU Commission, grassroots, academia and researchers will discuss those priorities together. Background papers produced beforehand, will allow for the debates to remain focused.

Re-politisation of enlargement

The direct communication established between CSF and Balkan politicians, the regular dialogue between Balkan civil society and European MPs, the constructive and professional relationship established between CSF partners and the Presidencies of the Western Balkans Summits, are evidence of an emerging shift towards the re-politisation of the enlargement process. Through their civil society organizations and other grassroots movements, the Balkans citizens are connecting, engaging into and endeavoring to impact directly the engaged reforms and influence the policy makers.

From their side, Balkan politicians are using the progress achieved in the Berlin process as a political argument in their internal politics. The example that comes more often to illustrate this thesis are the stellar relations between PM Rama and PM Vučić. This is a welcome shift from the former use of the “neighbor” only in a negative light, and as an appeal to populist and nationalist movements. By reinforcing regional civil society links, our goal is to make regional cooperation pay off more for our politicians during the elections, as compared to the fanning of regional tensions.

CSO as a strategic actor in the enlargement process

Our objective in Tirana is to propose constructive and feasible policy measures that further support the reform process engaged by our countries in their way towards EU membership. Those proposals will pro-actively bring the voice of Balkan citizen, civil society and other non-governmental actors into the table of the Western Balkans Summit in Trieste. Working together with their counterparts in the EU, as well as with policy-makers, will increase the efficiency and the utility of the Tirana CSF policy recommendations.

Our next challenge is to solidly embed our contribution in the planning, implementation and monitoring of regional cooperation processes, being them connectivity projects or the economic reform programs. To achieve this goal, we have partnered with sector experts, businesses, grass-root organizations, researchers, etc and are establishing and solidifying working relationship with the different inter-governmental structures and actors involved in the Berlin Process. This feature of multi-actor anchoring, connection and cooperation is the novelty of the Tirana CSF, and a welcome contribution to regional cooperation and to the enlargement process.

Ardian Hackaj is Director of ShtetiWeb.org, the public policy platform of Cooperation and Development Institute. He has authored many research works on the Berlin Process, EU Enlargement and Economic policies in the WB. Mr. Hackaj has held management positions at the College of Europe, International Organization for Migration, United Nations and the EU Commission.

European Western Balkans is an official media partner of the Civil Society Forum Tirana, supported by European Fund for the Balkans, ERSTE Stiftung and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

In the over-crowded context of regional cooperation initiatives – Cooperation & Development Institute has repertoriated 72 of them [1] – the Berlin Process immediately attracted major attention. The presence of key EU member states that are also major economic partners of the Balkan countries, and of new members states that happen to be close neighbors of the region, kept the process focused and impact-oriented. The new initiative found an immediate echo in the Western Balkans politicians, businessmen and civil society.

Set up on the principle of “three no” – no new budget, no new institution, no new legislation – after four years the Berlin process has produced an amazing array of outcomes. It has provided new impetus to the Enlargement dynamics, to the WB6 regional cooperation, and to the reforms engaged in the Balkan countries.

Berlin Process promoted the Connectivity Agenda with the aim attract new investment in the Balkans, generate growth, and promote employment. Since 2015, through Western Balkans Investment Fund, a total of EUR 246.5 MiO have been approved for 11 connectivity investment grants, as well as EUR 188.9 MiO for connectivity co-financing grants. The bulk of the earmarked EUR 1 billion investments are on the pipeline. Transport, energy and lately digital connectivity projects have received a much-needed boost by jumping at the top of regional investment priorities, and of EU financing.

Berlin Process contribution to the WB6 reforms is crucial and complex. Never before regional cooperation has been included as a condition for EU Accession. Under the Berlin process working together with your neighbor has become the new normal in a region still reeling from the wounds of the past conflicts.

The scope and depth of such cooperation is remarkable: it varies from high level political summits (where the best illustration is Rama – Vucic dynamics), to policy-making cooperation in different sectors through Ministerials; to business cooperation through establishment of different B2B platforms; to scientific cooperation through new scientific regional structures; to youth cooperation and exchange through RYCO and; lastly but very importantly to the cooperation amongst Balkans civil society and regional political actors through the Civil Society Summits.

Through Civil Society summits and other joint activities between CSO – decision makers, the Berlin Process has made possible for Balkans civil society and its citizen to being heard in the policy-making fora. This format has allowed a direct contact amongst policy-makers with their voters and final beneficiaries of public policies, so eliminating the intermediary steps. Strategically, the Civil Society Summits have provided the bottom-up component of Berlin Process by bringing to those high level political Summits, the voice and concerns of the Balkans citizen.

The Berlin process has provided the intellectual agora for an ideological debate to take place on the socio/economic development model used by the Accession Countries in their path to growth and to EU membership. The debate about the efficiency of the market-driven approach and of neo-liberal model of organization of economy, society and state applied in the Western Balkans during the last two decades, has found a perfect echo chamber.

From this point of view, Berlin process in a very innovative way, allows member states and applicant countries to discuss among equals mutual challenges that have the same or similar root causes. Increase of inequality, rise of populism, illegal migration flux, low growth, negative effects of globalizations, increasing regional divergences, terrorism and security, are problems shared by all European countries. These common problems demand coordinated answers. The closure of the Balkan migration route in 2016 is the best illustration of the efficiency of a joint approach.

The 3rd Tirana Conference on Berlin Process in November 2017, singled out some recommendations for the next Berlin process cycle. They include the need to promote and extend regional sectoral cooperation at Ministerial level by also including WB6 Ministers of Interior. The Conference pointed out the need to link big connectivity infrastructure with the territory where they go through and so valorize local resources. It underlined the necessity to improve the visibility of the process by setting clear benchmarks and targets, and monitor so as to increase citizen commitment. Taking into account the fiscal strains of the region, EU must step in with larger resources and innovative mechanisms to support connectivity infrastructure. This is conditional for the Balkans to sustain their growth rate and increase their pace of progress towards EU cohesion targets. To improve the efficiency of this process, WB6 need to be included asap in the discussion about the new Enlargement Strategy.

During its first four years the Berlin Process has been a successful political endeavor encouraging and supporting cooperation between Western Balkan politicians and European Union pairs. It has created the ground for a relevant participation of Balkans civil society in the decision making process, and has kept the European Union perspective open and achievable for the Balkans citizen.

With no additional resources, no legislation and no proper administrative structure, the Berlin Process has succeeded because it responded to a real need for a new way of cooperation between EU and WB6 politicians, between decision-makers and other enlargement stakeholders, and for an innovative way of getting closer and growing strong together. Key supportive EU member states will stay committed to it for as long as there is demand.  In the next cycle, the Berlin Process needs to capitalize on its achievements. Crucially, it must deliver tangible results for the Balkans citizen.

[1] see ORI – Observatory of Regional Initiatives

Ardian Hackaj, Director of the public policy platform Shtetiweb at the Cooperation and Development Institute