The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Amer Kapetanović, participated in the 19th Dubrovnik Forum, where he emphasized the strategic importance of integrating the Western Balkans into the European Union (EU).
He spoke on the panel titled “The European Union and the Western Balkans: Resolving Unfinished Business Together,” held as part of the forum under the theme “The Age of Multipolarity: Many Directions, One Future.”
According to the official statement, the event brought together political leaders, diplomats, and experts to discuss changes in the global order, security challenges, and Europe’s role in an increasingly fragmented international environment.
Kapetanović stressed that the EU’s engagement with the six Western Balkan countries is no longer simply a matter of enlargement policy, but a strategic necessity for Europe as a whole.
He underlined that political commitments must be accompanied by concrete reforms, investments, and deeper regional cooperation that deliver tangible benefits for citizens.
“The European Union’s engagement with the six Western Balkan countries is no longer merely a matter of enlargement policy; it is a strategic necessity for Europe as a whole. The region needs a credible, fair, and merit-based path to membership, but credibility must be matched by results. Political commitments must translate into reforms, investments, stronger regional cooperation, and tangible benefits for citizens. In a more fragmented and uncertain world, completing the European project means firmly integrating the six Western Balkan countries into the European family,” said RCC Secretary General Amer Kapetanović.
The panel also featured senior officials from across the region and the European Union, including the foreign ministers of Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, as well as representatives of the European Union and Austria.
On the sidelines of the forum, Kapetanović also held a bilateral meeting with representatives of Slovenia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, where they discussed regional cooperation and the European perspective of the Western Balkans.
