ABOUT THE PROJECT
The Balkans Forward Initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center is the home of the Western Balkans in Washington, DC. The project has two main goals: (1) to keep the region squarely on the US foreign policy agenda, and (2) to advance regional economic cooperation in the Western Balkans.

Through its public and private events with key US and European stakeholders; written in-depth reports on critical long-term issues such as the Growth Plan; and contemporary analysis and multimedia programming on current political developments; the Balkans Forward Initiative aims to advance the region’s overarching goals towards regional cooperation and Euro-Atlantic integration.

LOCAL IMPACT
The Balkans Forward Initiative drives forward the Western Balkans’ full integration into a Europe whole, free, and at peace. The Initiative engages with local leaders and civil society to build a forward-looking agenda for the Western Balkans, keep the United States engaged in the region, build US-EU cooperation, and build trusted formats for dialogue among regional and transatlantic leaders to advance this goal.

Across the US policy community, the Atlantic Council’s engagement spans Congress, the Department of State, the National Security Council, and Department of Defense, including top policymakers on the Western Balkans. The project also proudly hosts the Balkans Forward Congressional Fellowship, which aims to connect rising US policymakers – from both chambers of Congress and both sides of the aisle – with the political, economic, and foreign relations dynamics of the Western Balkans. Beginning in late fall of 2024, the Congressional Fellowship cohort will attend a series of workshops and roundtables throughout the year focused on the Western Balkans in Washington, DC.

REGIONAL IMPACT
Regional economic integration is one of the primary goals of the Atlantic Council’s Balkans Forward Initiative. Through convening, relationship-building, and research publications, the Initiative seeks to empower public and private sector actors to develop, own, and advance a tangible economic reform and opportunity agenda for the Western Balkans. In the fall of 2024, the project will publish an in-depth Report on the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, which analyzes the implications of economic development for the region and its prospects for integration into the European Union.

The Balkans Forward Initiative is also working to build a new Balkans Forward Advisory Council, which will bring together top leaders from the private sector of the Western Balkans to facilitate a regular discourse on regional economic integration. This will culminate with the Balkans Forward Summit in 2025.

PROGRESS TO DATE
While the Atlantic Council’s Western Balkans programming has a long and proud history, the renewed Balkans Forward Initiative begins in earnest in October of this year (2024) and will span three years. During this period, it will continue to champion the priorities for the Western Balkans in Washington with its peerless convening power, regional visits, critical research, and real-time analysis.

One of the core accomplishments of the program to date has been the #BalkansDebrief online multimedia interview series, featuring Ilva Tare, Resident Senior Fellow at the Europe Center. This series brings together voices from across the Atlantic on a public platform which pioneers a new way of covering the Western Balkans’ political dynamics, making it more accessible for the US audience and wider publics. Previous guests on the show include former Prime Minister of Italy Enrico Letta, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar, and US Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier.