EU meets the Balkans Forum – Fifty Years of EU Enlargement  

About the event  

The radically changed geopolitical context should trigger and intensify the enlargement debate in the EU, and advance solutions to the long-standing stumbling blocks and unresolved tensions, thus securing unity and strong political ambition for the challenges ahead. Translating rhetoric into concrete actions is required from all parties involved.  

The European Liberal Forum, supported by the ALDE Party and the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, have the pleasure of inviting you to the EU meets the Balkans Forum 2.0 on May 16, Sofia Tech Park, Innovation Forum John Atanasoff, which will bring together EU leaders, foreign ministers, policymakers, NGO representatives, and youth to discuss the next steps towards enhanced regional cooperation and EU integration of the region. 

Programme  

11:00 Welcoming remarks 

Master of Ceremony 

Ali Aslan, International TV Presenter, Moderator, Talk Show Host 
Iva Doychinova, Talk Show Host and Journalist 

Speakers:

Ilhan Kyuchyuk, MEP, Co-President of ALDE Party 
Alva Finn, Executive Director, European Liberal Forum 
Dr. Solomon Passy, President of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria 
Nikolay Milkov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Bulgaria 
Roberta Metsola, President, European Parliament 
Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Ukraine 
Dan Mircea Geoană, Deputy Secretary General, NATO (TBC) –

11:30 Addressing Common Challenges  

Moderator: Ali Aslan, International TV Presenter, Moderator, Talk Show Host 
Keynote Speech: Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement 

11:50 Discussion 

Speakers:

Bujar Osmani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of North Macedonia 
Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Kosovo 
Megi Fino, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Albania 
Danijela Đurović, President of the Parliament, Republic of Montenegro 
Tanja Miščević, Minister of European Integration, Republic of Serbia (TBC) 
Josip Brkić, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bosnia and Herzegovina

12:40 Reconciliation: the key to EU Enlargement 

Moderator: Boyko Vassilev, Talk Show Host & Journalist, Bulgarian National Television 
Speaker: Miroslav Lajčák, EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues 

13:00 100 Years of the Republic – Turkish Foreign Policy 

Moderator: Shada Islam, Editor, EUobserver Magazine 
Keynote Speech: Prof. Dr. İlber Ortaylı, Historian and Professor, Galatasaray University 

Speakers:

Aylin Sekizkök, Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Sofia 
Amb. Selim Yenel, President of Global Relations Forum 
Dimitar Bechev, Lecturer and Visiting Scholar, Carnegie Europe 

13:50 100 The Deeper Balkans Region: South-Eastern European Union Initiative (Bulgaria – Greece – Romania)  

Moderator: Anna-Maria Konova, Talk Show Host & Journalist, NOVA TV 

Speakers:

Thorsten Geissler, Director for Regional Cooperation, The Atlantic Club of Bulgaria 
George Kremlis, Principal Advisor to the Greek Prime Minister 
Matthew Boyce, Hudson Institute Senior Fellow, DAS, Department of State, European and Eurasian Affairs (2018 – 2021) 
Dr Ioan Mircea Pascu, Vice President of the European Parliament (2014 – 2019) 
Amb. Bisserka Benisheva, Director for EU Affairs, Paneuropa Bulgaria 
Prof. Dr. Leander Litov, Board Member, Southeast European Institute for Sustainable Technologies 

14:40 Buffet Lunch – Hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bulgaria 

15:30 Ukraine Reconstruction: Euro-Atlantic and Global Perspective 

Moderator: Alper Coşkun, Senior Fellow of the European Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 

Speakers:

Bruno Lété, Senior Fellow, Security and Defense, The German Marshall Fund 
Dr Maria Alesina, Policy and Research Officer, European Liberal Forum 
Dr Sameer Patil, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation 
Ribal al-Assad, Founder and Director of the Organisation for Democracy and Freedom in Syria 
Olesya Ilashchuk, Ambassador of Ukraine in Bulgaria (TBC

16:20 Big Bang NATO Enlargement: Ministerial Reunion 

Moderator: Svetoslav Ivanov, Talk Show Host & Journalist, BTV Media Group 

Speakers:

Kristiina Ojuland, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia (2002 – 2005) 
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Secretary General (2004 – 2009), NATO (TBC) 
Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo, Deputy Secretary General of NATO (2001 – 2007) 
Antanas Valionis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania (2000 – 2006) 
Dimitrij Rupel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia (2000 – 2004) (TBC) 

Visiting tour of Sofia Tech Park