balkans Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

West Balkans – Accession, Agriculture and a Greener Agenda

April 8, 2022 Hannes Lorenzen

War in Ukraine has sharpened the EU’s focus on food security, farm and trade policies and the EU Green Deal. This war has also spotlighted progressive engagement with the Western Balkans, a region with its own simmering political tensions not unrelated to the wider conflict. Agricultural ministers meet this week to engage, to connect to EU institutions, but also to help lead on a greener farming agenda for Europe. Hannes Lorenzen, who participated in the meeting, has more. […]

Western Balkans | Reviving Rural Areas & Moving Towards EU Integration

June 17, 2021 ARC

This week the second Balkan Rural Parliament took place in Ohrid, North Macedonia. Organised by the Balkan Rural Development Network, the Balkan Rural Parliament gives a voice to rural communities in the making of rural development policy for the Western Balkans. For EU accession countries, rural development is a key driver to accelerate the process of EU integration. The Parliament highlighted the need to strengthen mutual trust on every level between people and national institutions, as well as between the Western Balkans and the EU to build equal partnerships, writes Aleksandra Todorovska. […]