This event assessed the current state of European integration efforts with regard to the high-level Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue led by the EU, which had been stalled for some time and only resumed in June 2022. The newly appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar made
a strong opening statement about the policy that the new Biden administration will pursue: “The region must be part of the EU, it must make the reforms necessary to be part of the bloc, but we see tremendous economic opportunities in the region that could lead to confidence-building and greater ethnic reconciliation in the region.” DAS Escobar said he was worried about the lack of confidence that the public in the Western Balkans region has in the message that enlargement is a possibility for them, and the lack of a strong message from the EU to the region. EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajčák underlined the importance of EU-US cooperation in the region: “Everything we (the EU) have ever achieved in the Western Balkans has only been possible thanks to the closest cooperation with the United States. We have a history of successes every time we work closely together because we share the same objectives and values.”
Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, Member of the European Parliament, argued for stricter conditionality on the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) funds in order to put more political pressure on the actors on the ground”. She emphasised the need for a side dialogue involving ethnic minorities from both Serbia and Kosovo, which would allow the advancement of negotiations and respect all ethnic groups' rights in both countries. Donika Emini, Executive Director of Platforma Civikos, spoke of people's dissatisfaction about the talks and the slow pace of the dialogue. Progress can only be achieved with a very clear strategy between the US and the EU, she said. The bilateral dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria and its impact the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue remained a major obstacle to progress.