Initiatives

The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) is a cooperation initiative of the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) and Centre for the Southeast European Studies of the University of Graz (CSEES) with the aim to promote the European integration of the Western Balkans and the consolidation of democratic, open countries in the region.

In order to support the countries of the Western Balkans on their way to the European Union, the Austrian Parliament, along with the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) and with generous support of the ERSTE Foundation, launched the fellowship program for civil servants of the WB6 parliaments in March 2019. The EFB Fellowship at the Austrian Parliament is a practice-oriented educational programme for civil servants working at the national parliaments of Western Balkan countries. The purpose of the programme is to give impetus to the EU integration-driven reforms of the Western Balkan parliaments’ administrations, by means of building the capacities of individual agents of change.

The European Fund for the Balkans has joined ASB Serbia and Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung for Southeast Europe in support of the ongoing “Social Dimension Initiative” (SDI) campaign, which was launched by ASB in August 2018, aiming to stress the necessity of better social and employment policies in the enlargement process of the Western Balkan countries beyond the framework of the EU social acquis.

In 2017, the European Fund for the Balkans launched The Berlin Process Resource and Information Center designed as a one-stop info point for all information pertaining to the Berlin Process.

The Civil Society Forum is a platform enabling dialogue between Balkan citizens and regional and European decision-makers, within the Berlin Process. Its goal is to ensure civil society participation in the deliberation and creation of policies tailored to bring the countries of the region closer to each other and to anchor them in the European Union.