EU-Western Balkans Summit 2025

Heleen Bakker has served as Director-General for European Cooperation at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2024, following a long-standing diplomatic career focused on European and international affairs. She previously held leadership roles as Director for European and International Affairs at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and as Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Washington D.C. Her professional background includes key positions in EU external policy, multilateral diplomacy at the United Nations and political advisory work in post-conflict contexts such as Sarajevo. Over the years, she has also served as Head of Political Department, speechwriter and First Secretary at the Dutch Permanent Representation to the UN. Bakker is widely recognised for her strategic leadership and her commitment to strengthening the Netherlands’ role in European cooperation and global diplomacy.

Ana Brnabić is the former Prime Minister of Serbia, having previously held the position of Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government. In this position, she worked on the reform of public administration through introduction of e-government, so that the state would become a true service for citizens. She is a member of the “New Leaders for Europe” group of the World Economic Forum and the Advisory Board of the organisation “World Minds”, which brings together the world’s most important innovators from all fields. Prior to her election to the Serbian government, she was director of Continental Wind Serbia, President of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development and a member of the Board of Directors of the non-profit organisation PEXIM.

Prior to assuming his current positions as the State Secretary for EU Affairs and EU Sherpa to the Prime Minister in Sweden, Christian Danielsson served as the head of the European Commission Representation in Sweden. He has held several positions within the Commission, most notably as director-general for neighbourhood and enlargement negotiations, as well as enlargement, and as deputy secretary-general at the Secretariat-General. Danielsson is the former permanent representative of Sweden to the EU and has also previously served as the deputy head of cabinet to then-vice-president Günter Verheugen. Before joining the Commission, Danielsson worked for the Swedish diplomatic service.

Before joining the European Investment Bank as Vice-President as of 1st of February 2024, Robert de Groot was the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the European Union from May 2017 to January 2024. After joining the Netherlands’ Foreign Service in 1989, he has held various positions with the Foreign Ministry, both in The Hague and abroad. From 2011 to 2016 Robert de Groot was Director-General for European Cooperation (also during the Dutch European Presidency in 2016). Furthermore, he was Deputy Director General for Political Affairs from 2008 to 2011, Director of the Security Policy Department from 2005 to 2008 and Head of the Bureau of the Secretary General from 2002 to 2005. Prior to that he was the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mr Wim Kok (within the Ministry of General Affairs), from 1998 to 2002. Robert de Groot holds a Master’s Degree in Monetary Economics from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Judge Ingrid Derveaux has served as the Secretary General of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) since 2023. In this role, she leads the network in advancing judicial training for judges, prosecutors and court staff, thus contributing to effective cross-border cooperation and the creation of a strong European Area of Justice. Ms. Derveaux’s career spans judicial, managerial, and advisory roles, including Deputy Director and Head of International Department at the French National School for the Judiciary, Vice-Prosecutor in Paris, investigative judge in Nice, and a judge in Cambrai. She has also worked in the cabinet of the French Minister of Justice, contributing to negotiations for the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Anca Dragu has served as the Governor of the National Bank of Moldova since December 2023, bringing 28 years of experience in economics, finance, banking and public service. Previously, Dragu served as Speaker of the Romanian Senate and Minister of Public Finance. During her tenure, she launched initiatives such as the “Warm lunch in schools” programme, developed a public platform for budget transparency and reduced income tax for researchers. Dragu began her career as an economist at the National Bank of Romania, and previously worked with the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs. In addition to her roles in economics, she is also an associate professor at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest and has published several scientific papers in both national and international journals.

Štefan Füle is a Czech politician and diplomat who previously served as the Czech Special Envoy to the OSCE and the Western Balkans. Having started his career in the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he worked as Czech Ambassador to Lithuania and to the UK, as well as becoming Czech Permanent Representative to NATO. In 2010, he became the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy where he was instrumental in setting up and developing the Eastern Partnership with six countries in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus. Füle is a Trustee of Friends of Europe and a member of the Ukraine Initiative Steering Group.

Cristina Gherasimov has been Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Chief Negotiator with the EU since January 2024. With extensive experience in various official roles, she has played a key part in Moldova’s European integration. Previously, Gherasimov served as an advisor on Foreign Policy and European Integration to the President of Moldova and as Secretary General of the Presidential Office. She also held the position of Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. Before joining the government, she acquired a rich background in research institutes, think tanks and public organisations.

Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra Kanani was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.

Gert Jan Koopman is the Director-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood. Prior to this, he served as the director-general of the European Commission’s budget department. In this role, he contributed to putting in place the European Union’s €800bn NextGenerationEU recovery plan, as well as the €18bn MFA+ for Ukraine. He has worked to enable its financing on the capital markets through a sovereign-style funding system. Having served the EU for nearly three decades, Koopman was previously in charge of state aid control at the Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition. His earlier assignments included senior management posts in the department for economic and financial affairs, the Commission’s economic service, as well as enterprise and industry, which supervises the smooth running of the single market. 

Srdjan Majstorovic is Chairman of the Board of European Policy Centre – CEP and he is one of the leading experts on EU integration process in Serbia with over 20 years of professional experience. Majstorovic was prominent member of Serbia’s both negotiation teams for accession to the EU and Stabilization and Association agreement negotiations. He served 13 years as Deputy Director of the European Integration Office of the Government Serbia. He is Coordinator of Working Group on Political Criteria of the National Convention on European Union (forum of more than 700 CSO’s). He is also working as consultant on different EU supported projects providing assistance to the EU accession process of candidate countries.

Aleksandar Nikoloski Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport of the Republic of North Macedonia. In 2006 Nikoloski was elected member of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia where he performed his duties by 2016. He was re-elected in 2002 and discharged his duty until 2024. In the Assembly, he was a member and president of several commissions and committees, including the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Mandatory-Immunity Issues, Foreign Policy Committee, Committee on Constitutional Issues and the Committee on the Political System and Inter-Ethnic Relations. Nikoloski was also an active participant in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe where he performed the duty of a Vice-President in the period 2015-2017. He was the first Vice-President of the Committee on Political Issues and Democracy and first Vice-President of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee). 

Dr Irena Radović serves as Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro since December 2023, becoming the first woman to lead the institution. Under her leadership, the Central Bank has guided Montenegro’s integration into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), while integration into TIPS Clone is underway. She has also steered major reforms to align Montenegro’s regulatory and supervisory framework with the EU acquis, reinforcing financial stability and accelerating progress under key EU accession chapters related to capital movement, financial services, and economic and monetary policy. A career economist and civil servant with more than two decades of experience across central banking, development finance, and international relations, Dr Radović previously served as Deputy Governor of the CBCG, Executive Director of the National Development Bank, Deputy Foreign Minister, Ambassador to France and UNESCO, and Head of the British Office and Representative of the British Government in Montenegro during the period leading up to the country’s independence referendum. She holds a PhD in Economics, an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, and has lectured in international and EU monetary economics. A strong advocate of inclusive and sustainable finance, she authored Montenegro’s National Agenda for Women’s Economic Empowerment, launched the Women on Boards programme (2023–2026), and serves as the G100 Global Chair for Financial Inclusion and Corporate Board Readiness.

With a remarkably rich and diverse career path, Edi Rama’s involvement in the public and political life of Albania starts with his active participation in the movement for democracy that led to the dismantling of the communist regime in Albania. As Prime Minister, Rama continuously plays an important part in the political life of Albania, notably through the implementation of numerous reforms, including the restructuring of the country’s judiciary and law enforcement. Prior to his appointment as Prime Minister, he was Mayor of Tirana for 11 years, where he contributed to the modernisation of the city.

Mr Andreas Schaal is the Director for OECD Global Relations and Co-operation, as well as the OECD Sherpa to the G7, the G20 and APEC. In these functions, he supports and co-ordinates the OECD’s contributions to global governance under the leadership of OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann. In close co-ordination with OECD Members and the OECD’s External Relations Committee, he and his team implement the OECD Global Relations Strategy, engaging with over 100 partner countries around the globe at the ministerial level and building a global level playing field by increasing adherence to OECD standards and policies. Andreas’ expertise includes two decades of conceptional and strategic work on foreign affairs, national, international and global economic policy, and global governance. He is responsible for the OECD’s relations with Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa as well as with Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, South East Europe, Eurasia, and the Middle East and North Africa. Between 2013-2016, he served the organisation as the Head of the Sherpa Office and the Global Governance Unit at the OECD and between 2013-2018 as the G20 Sous Sherpa. Prior to joining the OECD, Mr Schaal held various positions during his work for the German Federal Government.

Retiring from NATO in September 2018 after 38 years at the organisation, Jamie Shea has occupied a number of senior positions at NATO across a wide range of areas, including external relations, press and media, and policy planning. As NATO’s spokesperson, he was the face of the alliance during the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts. He later worked as the director of policy planning in the private office of former secretary general Rasmussen during the preparation of NATO’s 2010 Strategic Concept. Shea is also a regular lecturer and conference speaker on NATO and European security affairs.

Image credits: Sien Verstraeten

Dr Valbona Zeneli currently holds the role of Senior Fellow for Peace, Security and Defence at Friends of Europe, and is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States, with a dual affiliation at the Europe Center and the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Transatlantic Security Initiative. From 2011 to 2023, she served as a Professor of National Security Studies and Chair of Strategic Engagements at the U.S. Department of Defense’s George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. She is also a visiting scholar for 2023-2024 at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University and a visiting fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre (RSC) at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Dr Zeneli specialises in transatlantic relations, strategic competition, NATO, globalisation, European Union enlargement and the Western Balkans. In 2023, she won the Inspiration for Women Award.