Policy Dialogue with Acting Director-General Maciej Popowski: "Building bridges among communities"

Policy dialogue with Maciej Popowski, Acting Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations 

Did you miss the live discussion? Don't worry, you can watch the recorded version by accessing the European Commission live stream page.
 

Take aways from the Dialogue

1. The main concerns of young participants shared during the dialogue are:                                                                                                                                    

• Low quality of the education and lack of labour market opportunities in the region
• Brain Drain
• Disinformation
• Need for more involvement of young people as stakeholders in decision making processes beyond youth policies
• Isolation (visa regime for Kosovo citizens)
• Slow integration of the region into the EU

There are numerous opportunities funded by the EU available for young people in the region, but the information needs to reach them: 

• A good example is Erasmus+: IPA III supports four Erasmus+ partners from the region (with over EUR 374 million), allowing participation in nine strands of the programme that would otherwise be closed for international participation. In addition, North Macedonia and Serbia are associated to the programme and they benefit from it on equal footing as EU Member States. National Erasmus+ Offices are in charge of promoting Erasmus+ actions and young people can reach out to them for any question on opportunities. One of the participants took part in several Erasmus+ actions and shared impressions with the group: “Erasmus+ activities are addictive, once you take part you just want to do it again!”The establishment of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) and the projects RYCO is implementing with EU funding have created many opportunities for youth in the region. RYCO still needs however to build its capacities and simplify its procedures in order to support even more young people in the region. 
• Western Balkans Youth Lab supports young people from the WB to have their say and to be active and co-create policies that impact their lives. 
• Three of the participants in the session were members of the Young European Ambassadors Network, which is part of the WeBalkans regional programme managed by DG NEAR. The network was introduced as a good example of youth participation, and members present at the dialogue shared with the other participants the types of activities they have been involved in thanks to the network. 
• The upcoming third EU regional communication campaign for the WB via the WeBalkans programme, entitled ‘Made of Us’ is expected to be  launched in spring 2023. The premise of the campaign, a 6-week road trip with young bloggers and influencers from the Western Balkans paired with young creatives from the EU, was presented to the participants. Their participation in the call for applicants and promotion of the campaign via their own channels was highly encouraged.

2. The European Commission highlighted during the dialogue that it is supporting the region in its EU integration path. The European Commission is also supporting the liberalization of the visa regime for Kosovo. 

3. The best way to address the brain drain challenge is through jobs creation and the raise of income levels. When the gap between salaries in the EU and in a country shrinks, young people are willing to stay. EU countries also face labour force shortages and need immigration so the issue will not be resolved overnight. The Youth Guarantee in the Western Balkans is a tool to improve transitions from school to work. It is not a magic solution but it shows good results. 

4. Investments in infrastructure and connectivity are supporting economic development and inclusive growth with the objective of creating an environment in which young people see their future with good education and jobs for all.