Where is the Balkans heading on the eve of the Slovenian presidency and intense discussions whether there should be an “Adriatic enlargement” of NATO in 2008? Do Europeans – including Austrians – fully grasp how much the region has changed?
ERSTE Stiftung and ESI jointly organised a public discussion hosted by the Haus der Musik in Vienna where Kristof and I presented new ESI research on Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The presentation included clips and the trailer of the most ambitious TV documentary project on the region undertaken in the recent years: a 10 part documentary to be broadcast on 3sat in early 2008.
This was followed by a panel representing a new generation of Balkan activists: ESI analyst Erion Veliaj (until recently MJAFT, Albania) and Alida Vracic (Populari, Bosnia) discussed realities and myths about the Western Balkans.