EU-Western Balkans Summit – breaking the social stalemate: women, youth and justice

Dec 7, 2023 | Friends of Europe
Online
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As Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on and soon enters its second year, geopolitical struggles remain at the top of Europe’s agenda and underpin the EU-Western Balkans policy checklist — to the extent that social issues at the regional and domestic levels are critically sidelined. Urgent questions of depopulation and migration, gender inequality, climate change and democratic backsliding still burden the Western Balkans — against limited political (re)action. At the risk of these consequences becoming irreversible, civil society forces, youth activists and social movements fight from the margins to keep these issues high on the priority list and to seek accountability from their decision-makers. During this year’s summit, we have the opportunity to reflect on the most pressing social challenges, risks and uncertainties the region has experienced in 2023 and to identify the prospects of overcoming them through a set of policy recommendations.