Our common future: A bottom-up perspective – Western Balkans’ youth on the Future of Europe

In spring 2021, the European Union launched the multilingual platform of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). This initiative is part of a wide deliberation process for sharing reflections on the future of our continent that will run until spring 2022, including EU and non-EU countries. Unfortunately, the Western Balkans, albeit in the process of EU integration and promised a future in the EU, have not been officially included in what was expected to be the most inclusive and laudable event across the EU. Admittedly though, decision-makers in the Western Balkans invested minimal efforts to be included in the debate. This policy paper puts forward inputs collected in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Greece thus aiming to amplify the voices of youth in the debate on the future of Europe.

In the final part, the paper presents practical steps that can and should be taken in support of the deepening of the European democracy. This includes measures that will advance the collaboration of stakeholders across the region, mechanisms to create bridges of engagement between youth in EU and non-EU countries of the region as well as two-way processes of citizen engagement and feedback mechanisms to assess engagement impact. Ultimately, such practical approaches are not dependent on new instruments but on the re-orientation of existing ones.