EU-Western Balkans Summit 2020: Creative solutions, sustainable cooperation and smart development

Majlinda Bregu is an accomplished Albanian politician and a strong believer in the European project. Before becoming the top official of the RCC, a regional cooperative framework for Southeast European countries promoting Euro-Atlantic integration, Bregu served as a member of parliament for three consecutive legislatures for the Centre Right. In this role, she worked for an all-inclusive approach and far-reaching consensus on the European perspective of Albania and the region. She has also served as the minister of European integration and as the government’s spokesperson, where she helped promote the importance of Albania’s membership perspective to the EU for the stability of the region. Additionally, she has actively supported and contributed to the Western Balkans Civil Society Forum established under the Berlin Process.

Ornela Çuçi is an environmental specialist with considerable experience in green solutions and sustainable development in Albania. In addition to her Tourism and Environment portfolio, she is tasked with Albania’s waste management issues as National Coordinator for Urban Waste Management; several measures and laws have since been initiated at her behest. Çuçi has also renewed Albania’s commitment to performing on international and European standards, while recognising the particularities of the Western Balkan historical background’s impacts on capacity.

Petko Doykov is an experienced diplomat with an extensive portfolio in international relations and cooperation. He was previously Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to India and Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ directorate for the Middle East and Africa. He was also an expert for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for NATO, Western European Union and Security Issues. He is a strong proponent of international collaboration.

Karoline is an Austrian lawyer and politician who has served as Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution in the government of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz since 2020. Karoline has previously held a number of senior positions at the national and European levels, including at the European Court of Human Rights, as state secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and most recently as head of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Delegation in the European Parliament. In her current portfolio, she has boldly called for European treaty change to ensure a clearer separation of powers between the EU and national governments. She has also made a name for herself by combating anti-Semitism and calling for a common European asylum system.

Ljiljana Lovrić has held numerous positions within the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She was an advisor to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Head of Office/Advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations. Her current and previous positions have seen her take on a range of policy issues, including regional economic cooperation, economic development, energy and environment. She is a strong proponent of sustainability and recently led the BiH delegation’s 10th Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). She also opened the first working group meeting for the Environmental Strategy and Action Plan of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Dedicated to digital development, Tatjana Matić has had an extensive political career in the Government of Serbia and in the Western Balkans. She has been engaged with Serbia’s accession to the EU, presiding several negotiating groups within the Coordination Body. A vocal advocate for the integration of Serbia to the EU Digital Single Market, Matić is committed to the strengthening of digital literacy, cybersecurity, the digital economy etc.; she is also a member of the European Strategic Group for Digital Development. She also has been heavily involved with the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans.

Besian Mustafa has a wide range of experience in the fields of economics and investment across the public and private sectors. He has held the positions of manager, director and board member of private, public and non-profit organisations, including General Director of the Kosovo* Investment Enterprise Support Agency, Member of the Platform Advisory Group, Enterprise Building and Enterprise Innovation in the Western Balkans and Spokesperson for the Democratic League of Kosovo*. In his current position, Mustafa oversees a range of policy issues, including rural and agricultural development, environmental protection activities, and reforestation.

*For the United Nations, references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999)

Stevo Pendarovski has led a distinguished career as a politician and academic. He served as National Security and Chief Foreign Policy Advisor for two presidents and headed North Macedonia’s State Election Commission. He also worked as an Assistant Professor in International Security, Foreign Policy and Globalisation at the University American College in Skopje. He was a key figure in coordinating North Macedonia’s accession to NATO and is a strong proponent of Balkan integration into the EU as a way of attracting more foreign investment, creating jobs, and maintaining stability and prosperity in the Balkans.

Charlotte Ruhe is an international economist with over two decades of experience at the EBRD. In her current portfolio, she is responsible for the organisation’s business in 18 countries, ranging from Poland and the Baltic States to the Balkans. She also served as Director of the Advice for Small Businesses team and Director for Croatia in Zagreb. In these roles, she was responsible for managing the Bank’s relations with national authorities and clients. She believes Europe can lead the way to climate neutrality and the Balkans have a vital part to play in achieving this goal.

In her current position, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger leads UNDP’s work in supporting countries across the Western Balkans in their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, amongst other responsibilities. Egger previously served as Head of United Nations and International Organisations Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, where she was instrumental in shaping Switzerland’s position to the UN. She combines a strong policy background with field experience and has had several assignments in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

Olivér Várhelyi is an experienced diplomat who has spent the past 25 years dealing with EU politics in various roles. Prior to his current position, he served as Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary at the Permanent Representation of Hungary to the EU and worked as the Head of Unit responsible for Industrial Property Rights at the European Commission. He also held the positions of Head of the Legal Service at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Hungary to the European Union and Legal counsellor at the Mission of the Republic of Hungary to the European Union.

Vladimir Vulic is a pioneer of internet entrepreneurship in Montenegro. He co-founded Download Zone, the first and largest download website in Serbia and Montenegro. His NGO, Digitalizuj.Me, helps citizens and organisations implement exciting new opportunities for social change and business in the digital environment. Digitalizuj.Me has successfully collaborated with several international organisations, including UNDP Montenegro, UNICEF Montenegro, the World Health Organisation, and the US Embassy in Podgorica. He was also a member of the ‘Educators Board of Challenge: Future, a global youth think tank’, where he focused on pushing forward more sustainable public policies.