Budapest, 5 – 7 June 2011
Within the frames of the Hungarian Presidency of the European Council (January 1 – June 30, 2011), a large scale European civil society conference was organized in Budapest between the 5-7th June. Over 300 participants from all over Europe joined this event which is considered the next chapter in a series of European civil society conferences known as the European Civic Days, started in La Rochelle (France) in 2008 and followed up by a meeting in Málaga (Spain) in 2010.
The three daylong conference was designed in the form of plenary and parallel sections of workshops focusing on EU citizenship, civic participation and role of CSOs in the Western Balkan enlargement.
IDM Center for European & Security Affairs was invited to present Albania’s EU accession challenges & opportunities in the discussion panel focusing on “The role of CSOs in the Western Balkan enlargement”, along with other key speakers from WB think tank organisations. Speaking at this conference, Mr. Gjergji Vurmo (Head of IDM Center for European & Security Affairs) elaborated on the paradigm of “inclusive EU accession reform process”, capacities of state actors to drive the process and role of non-state stakeholders in this context. IDM research work and policy experience on issues such as role of interest groups in Albania’s EU accession, implementation of aligned legislation, parliamentary dealings and practice in this regard were also discussed with the audience.
