On 31 August the Strategic Forum opened at Bled, Slovenia's principal foreign-policy appointment. It was opened by Foreign Minister Tone Kajzer and Prime Minister Janez Janša; the inaugural session, devoted to the future of Europe in the face of global uncertainty, was also attended by the Slovak President and by the Prime Ministers of Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic. Proceedings centred on Central Europe and its neighbouring countries, with particular attention to the enlargement process.
One detail says a great deal about the moment: unlike previous editions, the heads of the main European institutions were not invited. Four Commissioners were present, however, among them Slovenia's Marta Kos, whose portfolio is enlargement itself.
Speaking for the Central European Initiative was its Secretary General Franco Dal Mas: «It is essential to give new impetus to the process of European Union enlargement to the Western Balkans», he said, in a context in which «even traditional Euro-Atlantic relations appear less certain». The CEI, he added, contributes «through regional cooperation, dialogue and concrete support for the European prospects of the candidate countries». At Bled he met both Kajzer and Commissioner Kos.
Seven days earlier the same Secretariat had been at the centre of another development. On 24 August, in Trieste, the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Marko Čadež, and the Secretary General of the Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum, David Piegazki, visited the CEI Executive Secretariat. It is the same Chamber that on 22 May had hosted at its Belgrade headquarters the CEE – Western Balkans Energy, Infrastructure & Industrial Security Forum, co-organised with Confindustria Serbia.
For the companies in the network, enlargement is not a matter for foreign ministries: it means the progressive extension of the single market to the Balkan partners, and rules that fall into line. The follow-up to watch has a name — the Action Plan the CEI is preparing: that is where connectivity stops being a principle and becomes a list of works.
