Round Table: Perspectives for the Western Balkans in the EU

Round Table: Perspectives for the Western Balkans in the EU

 DSC0272JPGCEP together with the leading EU think-tanks organised a round table “Perspectives for the Western Balkans in the European Union” 28 March in Ljubljana, following a preparatory meeting for the Reflection Forum event to be held in Trieste 26-27 June 2017.

Round table discussion was part of a series of events within a ‘Reflection Forum’ initiative, which aims to discuss the relevance of a European dialogue of research and policy institutions on issues related to the Western Balkans and their European integration in the run-up to the Conference of Heads of State and Government from the Western Balkans countries in Italy as part of the Berlin Process. The first conference in Berlin was followed by a second one in Vienna in 2015, third one in Paris in 2016 whereas fourth one will be held in Trieste 12 July 2017.

Following speakers shared their views regarding Western Balkans and the EU:
• Peter Grk, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ljubljana
• Zoran Nechev, EU ISS, Paris
• Eleonora Poli, IAI, Rome
• Florent Marciacq, Franco-Austrian Centre (CFA), Vienna
Moderator: Tobias Flessenkemper, CIFE, Nice

Event addressed questions like what is left after Rome declaration in terms of the enlargement, where do the Western Balkan countries stand today in terms of the accession process and their progress, whether the enlargement could serve as an inspiration to EU in order to stand together more firmly, especially in current atmosphere with refugee crisis and Brexit. Further on debate addressed the expectations from the member states, Slovenian, German and Italian perspective, outcomes of the Berlin process so far and the final goals of it.

Interesting questions serving as a basis for further discussion were posed, asking whether the EU is just pretending to be enlarging while the Balkans are pretending to be reforming and what are the alternatives to the EU.

Round table concluded with a fruitful discussion with various questions from the audience, while all the panellists agreed that we need to keep in mind all the challenges, but also serve as an example to the Western Balkan countries and find ways to keep them inspired for changes and trespassing borders, while a structural change of all parts of the society will be needed there.

Kosovo Entrepreneurs getting ready for their search for investments in Slovenia

Kosovo Entrepreneurs getting ready for their search for investments in Slovenia

On Wednesday, March 29, CEP organized a workshop for young entrepreneurs from Kosovo. The event was organized in the Innovation Centre Kosovo in order to promote our project that enables 20 youngsters to attend PODIM Conference. It is the leading regional start-up conference, where 800 people of various backgrounds convene – big corporations, start-ups, investors and others.

The workshop attracted a number of young entrepreneurs, who want to launch their own start-up and embrace their entrepreneurial idea. The executive director of CEP dr. Gorazd Justinek presented the source of financing for the project and explained the framework of Slovenia’s Development Cooperation funds, devoted also to job creation and youth development in the region.

Representative of PODIM Conference Matej Rus introduced the leading start-up event in Slovenia and in the region and presented the speakers, moderators, investors and mentors that participated in the previous years and mentioned a couple of names from this year’s itineration. He briefed young Kosovo entrepreneurs about the PODIM Challenge, through which 10 best entrepreneurial ideas will be selected and 20 participants from Kosovo will be awarded with transportation, accommodation and participation at the conference free of charge as a result of cooperation between CEP and PODIM.

ABC Accelerator representative Milan Lazarevič presented the accelerator that supports the start-ups in Slovenia from the very first phase of development through an intermediary phase in Germany and then the latter stages in Silicon Valley. Young entrepreneurs had numerous questions about the conference and the challenge and the speakers were able to give them advise about the application process, presentation of the ideas and pitching in front of the investors.

The workshop followed a similar workshop that we organized in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 22 March.

The project is part of our program activities, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Slovenia in the framework of Slovenia’s development cooperation.

Kosovski podjetniki v pripravah na iskanje investicij v Sloveniji

V sredo, 29. marca, se je v Prištini v Innovation Centre Kosovo odvila delavnica za mlade podjetnike s Kosova, katere namen je promocija projekta preko katerega Center za evropsko prihodnost pomaga 20 mladim, da se udeležijo konference PODIM. Gre za vodilno regionalno konferenco za start-upe, kjer se sreča okoli 800 ljudi iz različnih okolij – velike korporacije, start-upi, investitorji in ostali zainteresirani.

Na dogodku se je zbralo veliko število mladih bodočih podjetnikov, ki želijo ustvariti svoj start-up in se podati na pot podjetništva. Direktor CEP dr. Gorazd Justinek je izpostavil, da se celoten projekt izvaja v okviru Razvojnega sodelovanje Republike Slovenije, kjer so mladi in ustvarjanje novih delovnih mest ključna dejavnika.

Predstavnik konference Podim Matej Rus je predstavil osrednji start-up dogodek v Sloveniji in regiji ter izpostavil govorce, moderatorje, investitorje ter mentorje, ki so se v preteklih letih konference udeležili ter nekatere, ki so že potrdili sodelovanje v letu 2017. Kosovske mlade podjetnike so seznanili s prijavo na PODIM Challenge, preko katerega se mladi lahko potegujejo za tridnevni paket, ki vključuje kritje stroškov prevoza, nastanitve in participacije na konferenci PODIM. Udeleženci morajo prijavo podati do konca meseca marca, izbranih pa bo 10 najboljših projektnih predlogov oziroma mladih start-up podjetij.

Predstavnik ABC pospeševalnika Milan Lazarevič je predstavil delo njihove organizacije, ki podpira start-upe vse od začetne faze v Sloveniji, preko napredne v Nemčiji do zrele faze v Silicijevi dolini.

V razpravi so mladi predstavnike iz Slovenije s številnimi konkretnimi vprašanji, predstavniki pa so podali odgovore in napotke glede prijave na izziv, predstavitve ideje ter predstavitve podjetniške zasnove pred investitorji.

Delavnica je sledila podobnemu dogodku, ki ga je CEP izvajal 22. marca v Sarajevu v Bosni in Hercegovini.

Projekt je del programskih aktivnosti CEP, ki jih financira Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve Republike Slovenije iz sredstev za mednarodno razvojno sodelovanje.

Internship Manual developed in cooperation with CEP

Internship Manual developed in cooperation with CEP

The European Integration Office, adjacent body of the Government of Serbia, presented the development projects in year 2016. Among others projects, the internships promotion project that was organized by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and CEP was presented.

In the framework of the project, a printed Internship Manual was developed in order to guide the organisations that aim to establish the internship and traineeship programmes in the countries that share the perspective to join the European Union. Its objective is to inspire both the sending institutions and the institutions who are recipients to develop such programmes and contribute to the regional education and cooperation on the way to the EU.

CEP was selected as a programme partner who served as a contact point in Slovenia, intermediary between the European Integration Office in Serbia and the institutions, and the identifier of the organisations that are eligible to take part in the programme.

Find the manual here: GIZ SEIO Internship Manual

CEP among the mentioned contributors to EU’s civilian missions training

CEP among the mentioned contributors to EU’s civilian missions training

Last week the European External Action Service (EEAS) published the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) Annual Report that provides an overview on how CSDP operations and missions are operating related to the priorities they are focused on.

An important aspect of the activities in the framework of the CSDP are also the civilian missions and the support that is provided to the mission staff, who are the backbone of the missions and ensure to deliver the missions’ mandates. Establishing and maintaining such missions is an enormous task for the EU. In order for the CSDP missions to function professionally, trainings are of crucial importance. Pre-deployment trainings are provided in Brussels each month through the European Security and Defence College (ESDC). One of the providers in the ESDC’s network of training organisations is also the Centre for European Perspective (CEP).

CSDP Annual Report, published 16 March 2017 is available here.

CEP and PODIM Conference join forces to empower young entrepreneurs

CEP and PODIM Conference join forces to empower young entrepreneurs

IMG 9082JPGThe initiative that started as CEP’s program activity in the framework of the official development cooperation of the Republic of Slovenia in 2014, has grown into a region-wide project that supports the young entrepreneurs and youngsters with a promising entrepreneurial idea on their way to the development of the idea and launch of their own start-up company.

Empowering entrepreneurs in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Starting with the young entrepreneurs in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) three years ago, the project named Empowering BiH’s Young Entrepreneurs continues to expand its scope of activities. This year’s itineration included a preparation workshop in Networks Sarajevo, Sarajevo, BiH, (Wednesday, 22 March 2017 – learn more about it here) where young entrepreneurs got a chance to present their ideas, learn how to improve their pitch in front of an expert commission and got a direct feedback from their colleagues. Through the preparation process youngsters finalize their ideas and respond to the call for applications, where we select the best entrepreneurial ideas and offer 20 young entrepreneurs from BiH a 3-day all-inclusive package – visit to Slovenia, transportation, accommodation and participation at the PODIM Conference, free of charge.

Encouraging the start-up environment in Kosovo

Having received very positive feedbacks from the participants in BiH, CEP developed a similar project in Kosovo in 2016. A preparation workshop, titled “Investment and growth opportunities for Kosovo start-ups in Slovenia and the Alps-Adriatic region” will take place in the Innovaton Centre Kosovo (ICK) on Wednesday, 29 March 2017 (learn more about it here), followed by the call for applications for the young entrepreneurs from Kosovo and a 3-day visit to Slovenia.

Reaching out to the Danube region

Having focused predominantly on the countries of the Western Balkans in the previous years, we are now turning to the Danube region as well. As the coordinator of the Priority Area 10 of the Danube Strategy (Institutional Capacity and Cooperation), we have launched a special offer for the Danube region start-ups (selected Danube countries include: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Montenegro, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine). 20 participants from the eligible countries will be selected for the 3-day all-inclusive package trip to Slovenia (read more about it here).

Partnership with PODIM Conference and visit to Ljubljana

podim 2017 eng 362x60

Selected participants will attend PODIM Conference in Maribor, Slovenia on 10 and 11 May 2017, participate in the biggest networking event for start-ups in the Alps-Adriatic Region, take part in the PODIM Challenge pitching competition and be presented in the PODIM Start-up Catalogue for the one-on-one meetings with PODIM investors and blue-chip partners.

Following the PODIM Conference, the participants will visit Centre for European Perspective at Grad Jable, where a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will explain more about the Slovenian foreign policy efforts in the Balkan region and the EU-wide Positive Agenda for Youth that recognizes youth in the Balkan region as essential actors in regional cooperation, friendship and reconciliation. Their visit in Slovenia will conclude with a peek into the Slovenian start-up environment and co-working scene at the ABC Accelerator in Ljubljana. The good practices from Slovenia will help transmit one of the key messages of the project – cooperation leads first to small changes in the start-up environment, but not giving up and raising the voice of youth can lead to the system-wide reforms.

By joining forces, PODIM Conference and CEP offer young entrepreneurs an additional learning dimension in the creative process and empowers them to step ahead and present themselves in front of the investors that can help them transform their ideas into a promising start-up company.


CEP in konferenca PODIM združila moči za opolnomočenje mladih podjetnikov

MRSS znak manjsiPobuda, ki jo je CEP začel v okviru mednarodnega razvojnega sodelovanja Slovenije leta 2014, je prerasla v regionalni projekt, ki podpira mlade podjetnike in mlade z obetavnimi podjetniškimi idejami na njihovi poti od razvoja ideje do zagona njihovega lastnega start-up podjetja.

Opolnomočenje podjetnikov v Bosni in Hercegovini

Projekt, ki se je pod imenom Spodbujanje podjetništva medm mladimi v BiH začel pred tremi leti, sedaj razširja svoje aktivnosti. V letošnjo izvedbo smo vključili pripravljalno delavnico v Networks Sarajevo v Bosni in Hercegovini (sreda, 22. marec 2017 – več o tem na tej povezavi), kjer so imeli mladi podjetniki možnost predstaviti svoje ideje, se naučiti, kako izboljšati svoje predstavitve pred strokovno komisijo ter dobiti neposreden komentar in nasvet s strani ostalih udeležencev. Tekom pripravljalnega procesa mladi izdelajo svoje ideje in se tako bolje odzovejo na razpis, preko katerega izberemo najboljše ideje in 20 mladim podjetnikom iz BiH ponudimo brezplačen tridnevni paket – obisk Slovenije, prevoz, nastanitev in obisk konference Podim.

Spodbujanje start-up okolja na Kosovu

Po zelo pozitivnem odzivu udeležencev v BiH, je CEP podoben projekt razvil tudi na Kosovu leta 2016. Pripravljalna delavnica z naslovom “Priložnosti za rast investicije in rast za kosovske start-upe v Sloveniji in v alpsko-jadranski regiji” se odvija v Innovation Centre Kosovo (ICK) v sredo, 29. marca 2017 (preberite več tukaj), sledi pa ji natečaj za mlade podjetnike s Kosova in tridnevni obisk v Sloveniji.

Širitev na Podonavje

Medtem ko smo se v preteklih letih osredotočali predvsem na države Zahodnega Balkana, se projekt letos razširja tudi na Podonavsko regijo. Kot koordinatorji PA10 Podonavske strategije (institucionalna krepitev in sodelovanje), smo poseben natečaj uvedli tudi za start-upe iz Podonavja (izbrane države v regiji zajemajo Bolgarijo, Hrvaško, Češko, Madžarsko, Romunijo, Slovaško, Črno goro, Srbijo, Moldavijo in Ukrajino). 20 udeležencev iz izbranih držav bo sodelovalo na tridnevni ekskurziji v Slovenijo (več preberite tukaj).

Partnerstvo s konferenco Podim in obisk v Ljubljani

Izbrani udeleženci se bodo udeležili konference Podim 10. in 11. maja 2017 v Mariboru v Sloveniji, sodelovali na največjem dogodku za start-upe v alpsko-jadranski regiji, se preizkusili na izzivu PODIM Challenge ter bili predstavljeni v PODIM Start-up katalogu, namenjenem ena-na-ena srečanjem z investitorji in partnerji.

Po konferenci PODIM bodo udeleženci obiskali tudi Center za evropsko prihodnost na gradu Jable, kjer jim bo predstavnik Ministrstva za zunanje zadeve RS povedal več o slovenskih prizadevanjih na področju zunanje politike na Balkanu in o Pozitivni agendi za mlade, ki na nivoju Evropske unije prepoznava mlade na Balkanu kot ključne akterje pri regionalnem sodelovanju, prijateljstvu in spravi. Njihov obisk v Sloveniji se bo zaključil z vpogledom v slovensko start-up okolje in sodelo (co-working) v ABC pospeševalniku v Ljubljani. Dobre prakse iz Slovenije bodo pomagale prenašati eno izmed ključnih sporočil projekta – sodelovanje najprej vodi do majhnih sprememb znotraj start-up okolja, vztrajnost in angažiranost mladih pa lahko vodita do širših reform na sistemski ravni.

Z združitvijo moči PODIM in CEP mladim podjetnikom ponujata dodatno učno dimenzijo v kreativnem procesu in prispevata k opolnomočenju mladih, da stopijo v ospredje, se predstavijo pred investitorji in s tem spremenijo svoje ideje v obetavna start-up podjetja.