The Western Balkans Forum opened Monday at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies with calls for deeper regional cooperation, stronger resilience and steady progress toward Euro-Atlantic integration.
“The Western Balkans remain strategically vital for European security,” said Barre Seguin, the center’s director. “This forum is an opportunity to strengthen cooperation, reduce vulnerabilities, and advance the region’s place in European-led deterrence and defense.”
The three-day event brings together senior defense officials, academics and policy experts from across the Balkans to discuss security challenges and the region’s role in NATO and European Union frameworks.
Opening sessions highlighted progress toward NATO and EU membership but also warned of persistent threats, including organized crime, corruption, foreign influence and political tensions.
Sebastian von Münchow, professor of regional security studies at the Marshall Center, said Southeast Europe’s stability was “critical” for European deterrence. “The Western Balkans must continue to move forward on Euro-Atlantic integration, while also strengthening regional ties to resist corruption, organized crime and foreign malign influence,” he said.
On Tuesday, officials from the region outlined national defense reforms. Albanian Brigadier General Vullnet Doka cited modernization efforts since Albania joined NATO in 2009, particularly in cyber defense and defense industry revitalization.
Montenegrin diplomat Todor Goranović, serving at the Royal College of Defense Studies in London, said defense cooperation remained “too dependent on encouragement from the U.S. or EU” and urged regional governments to assume greater ownership.
Speakers also stressed that resilience must go beyond military modernization to include stronger democratic institutions and public trust in Euro-Atlantic integration.
“The future of this region is not destiny,” said Alexander Ivanov, professor of security studies at St. Kliment Ohridski University in North Macedonia. “It will be determined by the choices our societies and leaders make.”
The forum runs through Aug. 28 with panels on regional security frameworks, hybrid threats and the Balkans’ contribution to European-led defense.