Opening Seminar of this Year’s TRAIN Programme in Belgrade
In the enlargement strategy for the Western Balkans, the EU Commission puts an emphasis on the approach “fundamental firsts,” meaning that those areas of reform that are both crucial and difficult are supposed to get defined and tackled at an early state of the enlargement negotiations. Guarantees on fundamental rights – the focus of this year’s TRAIN Programme – fall into that area: the representation of women in parliament, the treatment of prisoners, corruption in the health sector, freedom of expression, and the equal treatment of same-sex couples are some of the topics that the participants from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia treat in their current policy research.
During the Belgrade seminar, Axel Dittman, German Ambassador to Serbia, provided participants with some further input on their research topics. Dittman discussed opportunities and problems in the EU integration process from both a German and European point of view and shared his assessment of the political situation in the region with the group. While the countries of the Western Balkans find themselves in different phases of political and economic reforms, on their path toward the EU they have a number of problems in common; being able to exchange experiences was for the participants therefore an integral part of the seminar.
TRAIN stands for “Think Tanks Providing Research and Advice through Interaction and Networking” and offers training and networking opportunities to independent think tanks in the Western Balkans. The program’s aim is to support civil society and to strengthen the national and European policy dialogue with regard to topics relevant to the countries' EU integration process. The participating think tanks will present their results and recommendations in the countries of the region as well as in Brussels in the fall of 2016 and seek an exchange with policy makers at both the national and EU level.
