23. 10. 2018 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR
The eighth Belgrade Security Forum titled “Finding Answers Together to the New Normal” concluded on Friday, with the members of the Executive Board Sonja Licht, Suzana Grubješić and Sonja Stojanović Gajić agreeing that EU should change its approach to the Balkans, and vice versa, that the Balkans should change its approach to the Union.
The discussions have been followed by a delegation of the Bled Strategic Forum, which has for over a decade addressed the questions and challenges of development and integration of the Western Balkans. Such discussions need to be hosted both inside the WB6, in the region and at the European stage as a multi-level approach is needed to successfully lead the countries onto the European future.
“It is extremely important that we have managed to bring the global debate home”, said President of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence Sonja Licht, summing up the impressions from the Forum.
She emphasised that, during the three days of Forum, “great sessions” focused on Middle East, Asian Century and the fourth industrial revolution took place, and assessed that those topics may not be as important on a daily political level, but that they will determine our future. Her recommendation for Serbia is to open itself, to learn and do as much as possible to ensure that its education system and citizens follow the new trends, such as fourth industrial revolution, which brings new reality.
“We have to be ready for it, even as a small and relatively underdeveloped country. We can leap very high if we prepare ourselves on time”, remarked Licht.
Bled Strategic Forum and Belgrade Security Forum are already seeking for common grounds that will be addressed at future forums and other events throughout the year.
23. 10. 2018 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Youth
CEP Project Manager Sabina Carli moderated a discussion “New faces of Western Balkans politics: continuity or change?” in the framework of the 2018 edition of Balkan SAYS – Security Architecture Youth Seminar in Ljubljana, Slovenia in the beginning of October. A night-owl session, focusing on the young leaders for reform, development and growth hosted Mr Daniel Fazlić, Pro Plus; Mr Luka Nikolić, Centre for International Public Policy; Ms Ivana Martac, Balkan SAYS Participant; and Mr Emir Hasanović, Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia.
An inclusive format of discussion delved into the challenges of persistent economic weakness, corruption, high (youth) unemployment, brain drain, combined with growing public frustration with politics and politicians, and renewed nationalist rhetoric. The fact is that the issues will have to be addressed by current and future leaders of the Western Balkan countries. Therefore, the people chosen to be in the position to address these problems will need to possess the necessary qualities to effectively deal with them, via experience or simply via a new perspective.
The question of old or new faces is one that sees prominence through much of the world, and it is no different in the Western Balkan region. Some prefer to put their trust into the faces they know, whilst some would look to entrust this process to new faces who, while less experienced, do not come with the baggage of the past, and who could potentially provide a new outlook or vision for their country.
The panel identified crucial pending reforms but also looked at the bright sides and successes from the past and present. Among the most prominent ideas of the discussion were participation and engagement of young people in decision-making processes, in democratic processes and in grass-root organizations.
Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia, the organizer of the Balkan SAYS seminar, has been an important partner of this years Young Bled Strategic Forum and the Centre for European Perspective.
22. 10. 2018 | PR, THINK Initiative
“How can the EU and Central and Eastern European countries address the challenges and opportunities created by regional and bilateral CEEC-China cooperation in the context of the 16+1 Platform?” The question is at the centre of the research that is conducted by the Centre for European Perspective in cooperation with CASE Poland and Centre for European Policy, Belgrade in the framework of “THINK Initiative”, a platform to spark and lead the discussion about proactive strategies for the EU and neighbouring regions. The Initiative brings to the debate a young, creative, and academic perspective and its goal is to bring together researchers, public, and private actors to develop joint strategies and common responses.
Central and Eastern European countries, included in the “16+1 Platform”, are lacking both a national and a common foreign policy strategy towards China. The EU is also lacking its own comprehensive strategy to address the influence of China in the CEE region. A challenge in the existing literature is the scarcity of comprehensive academic assessments of the relations between the CEE countries and China.
The goal of this research is to propose recommendations for an overarching coordinated political response to Chinese actors in the CEE region. The recommendations will be focused on addressing opportunities and threats stemming out of the Belt and Road Initiative for the individual CEE countries, CEE as a Platform and EU as a unit. So far the research team has developed 4 scenarios as illustration of the spectrum of possible future developments allowing policy makers to make informed strategic decisions and anticipate surprises. Each scenario is supported by few of overall 11 hypotheses, focused on (1) results of the 16+1 Platform, (2) importance of the CEE region for China, (3) benefits of the 16+1 Platform, (4) 16+1 Platform in relation to Europe n (its strategic importance for future cohesion and cooperation in Europe and EU)
The study enables the CEE and the EU to coordinate their foreign policy on China in order to strengthen their strategic position in relation to the Belt and Road Initiative. The study provides analytical support to business and financial decision-makers, as well as It advances the political and academic discourse on the future of relations between the CEE countries, (the EU) and China.
Find more details in the executive summary here:
THINK Initiative – Executive Summary (16+1 Platform)
22. 10. 2018 | HEAT, PR, Security
Civilians deployed in missions abroad can be subjected to potentially dangerous working conditions and hazardous situations. It is essential for them to be aware of the risks and challenges such a workplace embodies. That is precisely the focus point of the Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT), as it aims to educate civil experts on a wide range of topics and equip them to be more suited for the challenges that may occur in a conflict area. Three day training was organised by the Centre for European Perspective (CEP) in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenian Police and Slovenian Armed Forces.
This year’s HEAT took place between the 16th and the 18th of October, and was organised in the Police training facility Gotenica, as it includes all the capabilities needed for a successful training. The event brought together 16 participants from three countries, representatives from the Slovene police force and Slovenian Armed Forces, other civil and security experts and a wide range of volunteers helping in the concluding simulation.
The participants were a part of a simulated European Union mission from their first step in the training, and worked together to resolve the crisis situation happening on their doorstep. They were subjected to multiple challenges that tested their experience in theory and practice. Working in smaller groups, participants improved their team dynamics, while their physical and cognitive capabilities were challenged to the breaking point by different circumstances, no different from a potential real mission. They were included in presentations, workshop and practical exercises on the topic of their personal security in the field, orientation skills, medical assistance, communication skills and many other useful technical capabilities. The peak of the training was a simulation with different scenarios that encompassed all the knowledge gained throughout the past days.
The training successfully concluded on Thursday evening with an evaluation session of the gained experience and a closing ceremony, also attended by Mr Vladimir Pocek, Head of Division for International Police Operations of the Slovenian Police. The participants all successfully finished the course and are equipped with new experiences, techniques and knowledge that will, if needed, prove to be beneficial to their current or future work posts.

16. 10. 2018 | LET4CAP, PR
Centre for European Perspective has successfully co-organized second “Mentoring, Monitoring & Advising (MMA)” course that was held in Slupsk (Poland) at a Polish Police School from 8th to 12th October 2018. CEP has actively participated in evaluating the training, in order to improve the course agenda and overall development of the project.
LET4CAP is a project funded by the EU within the framework of the Internal Security Fund with the objective to foster a process of harmonization of training for Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) to perform capacity building tasks in third countries and to create a common Law Enforcement capacity building culture founded on EU fundamental values.
The Project is implemented by a consortium that includes two law enforcement agencies (the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units of the Italian Carabinieri and the Polish Police), two centres of excellence in research and training, namely the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Italy) and the Centre for European Perspective (Slovenia) and one Italian governmental agency specialised in project management of EU funds (Studiare Sviluppo).
The training programme is based upon a preliminary desk research, good practices and lessons learnt in the field of the existing law enforcement capacity building. All training materials will be consolidated after the four training courses in e-learning tools disseminated via institutional channels and the project website. More info on the project is available at: http://www.let4cap.eu/
Third training will be held in Vicenza (Italy) 26th – 30th November, 2018.