Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report

International Online Conference Young People, Migration and the Demographic Challenge in the Western Balkans Organizers: German Federal Foreign Office / Southeast Europe Association / Aspen Institute Germany

Berlin, 28–30 October 2020 Report by Wladimir Dirksen, München, and Friedrich Püttmann, Istanbul

Introduction1 The conference brought together scientists, ex- The international conference “Young People, perts and political decision-makers from the Migration and the Demographic Challenge in Western Balkans, EU Member States, and EU in- the Western Balkans” was hosted by the Ger- stitutions to analyse the situation in the region man Federal Foreign Office in cooperation with and to discuss short-term measures and long- the Southeast Europe Association and the As- term strategies. The overall goal was to identify pen Institute Germany. The three-day online joint strategies for countries of origin and des- event took place from 28 to 30 October 2020 tination that are mutually beneficial. The issues and was part of the official programme of the were also discussed with an eye to the addi- German Presidency of the Council of the Euro- tional burden that the COVID-19 pandemic is pean Union. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the placing on the region. conference was held online in a digital event space that was specifically designed for the Hosted by Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas purpose of the conference. and Minister of State Michael Roth in Berlin, the first conference day included Ministers from the The conference aimed to shed light on both the Western Balkans, representatives from the Eu- phenomenon of emigration from the Western ropean Commission, as well as youth represen- Balkans and the challenges and opportunities tatives. The conference was held in English, and this entails. The discussions offered more in- interpretation was available for the Ministers’ sights into reasons why people decide to leave, panel. into the effects the exodus has on the countries of origin and offered recommendations for poli- Throughout the second and third conference cy responses to tackle the issue. day, experts and stakeholders from civil society

1 This is the full version of the conference report. For the short version of the report, only covering the second and part of the third conference day, see SOM 01/2021. For a comprehensive collection of analyses authored by the speakers of the Conference and some additional workshops tackling the issue of emigration from the region, see Southeast Europe in Focus 1/2021, “Emigration from the Western Balkans”, edited by Hansjörg Brey, Christian Hage- mann, Valeska Esch and Viktoria Palm. 2 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report and international organisations shed light on opportunities – despite all the challenges it en- both the phenomenon of emigration from the tailed. Western Balkans and the challenges and oppor- tunities this entails. Besides the panels, there were short videos providing testimony from Maas stressed that it was not the goal of the young people from the region about their expe- conference to stop migration. 30 years after the riences, hopes and expectations. fall of the iron curtain it was clear that all those who had tried to do so had failed. Mobility was Opening Speech by German Foreign Minister part of the European Union’s DNA and would Heiko Maas prepare young people for a life in a globalised, The Opening Speech of the conference was de- interconnected world. At the same time, one livered by Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas could not close one’s eyes to the problems that on 28 October 2020. He pointed out that the a continuous “brain drain” was causing in the COVID-19 pandemic had significantly changed Western Balkans. The numbers were staggering, the agenda of the German Presidency of the as The Economist forecasts that Albania’s, Bos- Council of the European Union. Following the nia and Herzegovina’s and Serbia’s populations outbreak, it quickly became clear that Europe would have dropped by more than a third by would only be able to cope with the crisis in 2050 compared to 1990. As recent surveys by close cooperation with its neighbours. There- the Regional Cooperation Council were show- fore, the German Presidency of the Council of ing, 71 percent of young people in the Western the European Union laid a special focus on Balkan countries were considering moving supporting Southeast Europe in this crisis. As abroad. In particular better salaries were a Germany regarded the Western Balkans as an strong pull factor. But, as Maas underlined, emi- integral part of the “European family”, great im- gration from the Western Balkans was not just portance would be attached not only to sup- about economic opportunities. According to a porting the region in the fight against the pan- recent study by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, demic, but also in the topic of youth migration. many young people were also invoking deficits But what really turned this conference into a in the education, health or social systems of key event of the German Council Presidency their countries as well as a lack of merit-based would be the active participation of people recruitment and corruption. Minorities were from the region. Therefore, Maas thanked his facing additional difficulties as many young Ro- colleagues from the Western Balkans and the ma, for example, were suffering from discrimi- members of the European Commission and ex- nation. pressed his gratitude to the co-hosts, the Southeast Europe Association and the Aspen On one of his trips, Maas recounted, he had Institute Germany. talked to a young woman in Skopje who told him: “People in this region are fighting about During the ten days Maas had recently spent in the past, instead of looking to the future. And quarantine, he had read “Where you come those who believe in the future are leaving.” And from,” the German Book Prize winner from 2019 that was exactly what would need to be by German-Bosnian author Saša Stanišić which changed. Maas therefore proposed the three fol- he cited to be saying that “our origins are the lowing steps: the first was that “we must invest bitter-sweet coincidences that carried us here in the future.” Due to the pandemic, more and or there.” As someone who grew up in the Saar- more companies were planning to “near shore” land region which had continuously shifted be- their production. The Western Balkans were in tween France and Germany, this was a stark re- an ideal position for that. Three weeks ago, the minder of how random categories like “home- European Commission had presented the new land” or “nationality” could be, especially if be- Economic and Investment Plan for the Western ing linked to a place of birth. Maas concluded Balkans which would focus on the green and that the book was showing how migration could digital economy and support connectivity. The change perspectives, connect countries and nine billion euros it offered could boost eco- people, and broaden horizons by creating new nomic transformation in the region. But the ba- Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 3 sis of successful investment were reforms that people in Mostar would be able to participate only the governments of the Western Balkan in local elections for the first time in 12 years. countries could undertake by cutting corruption and red tape. The European Commission’s recent Maas’ third and final point emphasised that it country reports had shown very clearly that the was in the joint strategic interest of both the rule of law and good governance remained top EU and the region that the Western Balkan priorities. Not because the European Union re- countries would join the EU. The EU was where quired them, but because they were in the inter- the Western Balkans belonged and where the est of the people and businesses in the region. young people of the region saw their future. Maas assured the audience that “in all of this, “And if the EU does not come to them, they we stand by your side.” will come to the EU,” Maas warned. As an ex- ample, he mentioned that in 2001, before join- At this year’s summit of the Berlin Process, ing the Union, 75 percent of young Romanians hosted by North Macedonia and Bulgaria, the wanted to leave their country. Today, two Western Balkans hopefully would launch the thirds of them wanted to stay. Maas hoped to next phase of the Regional Economic Area. It see the same development in the Western Bal- would speed up economic growth by bringing kans. With the renewed commitment to Euro- the EU’s four freedoms to the region. The back- pean enlargement and the necessary reforms bone of regional cooperation, however, were at the Zagreb Summit in May 2020, according good-neighbourly relations. Making his second to Maas, both sides had taken important steps point, Maas insisted: “Let us finally put the that year to speed up European integration. ghosts of the past to rest! Because they are Germany was planning to hold the First Acces- blocking your countries’ way into the future.” sion Conference with North Macedonia before This was particularly true with regard to Kosovo the end of the EU Presidency and, if conditions and Serbia where a settlement of the bilateral allowed, would be willing to do the same with conflict was long overdue. On this note, Maas Albania. recognised that Miroslav Lajčak had resumed the EU-facilitated dialogue in July 2020 and un- Concluding his speech, Maas reminded the au- derlined again that there would be “no alterna- dience of the story of the young woman he had tive to a comprehensive, sustainable and bind- met in Skopje and who had told him that all the ing agreement.” Such a step required strong po- young people who believed in a future were litical leadership. leaving for the EU. “What if we showed her that this future is a joint one?,” the German Foreign Maas therefore said to be counting on the lead- Minister asked, and invited his colleagues in the ers in Belgrade and Prishtina to demonstrate region to join him in showing that “our desti- leadership by engaging constructively with each nies are linked, not just by geography, but by other and “thus paving the way into a new era.” choice, that we truly share the same values and The sooner they started, the better it would be that we support open societies, in which all for the stability of the entire region and the people can thrive – regardless of their gender quicker they would unlock Kosovo’s and Ser- or their sexual orientation, their ethnic, nation- bia’s EU perspectives. The same was true for al or religious backgrounds.” In doing so, one Bosnia and Herzegovina, Maas stated. Despite “might convince her to build a future in her the fact that 2020 marked the 25th anniversary country,” Maas affirmed, thanking everyone for of the Dayton Peace Agreement, to this day, the their attendance of the conference. country remained politically divided along eth- nic lines. Maas made clear that “in a country Ministers’ Panel: Emigration, the Demographic that wants to join the EU, there is simply no Challenge and Policy Responses in the Region place for nationalistic agitation, for the denial and Beyond of war crimes or the glorification of war crimi- The panel was presented by Michael Roth, Min- nals.” The recent adoption of the Revised Na- ister of State for European Affairs at the German tional War Crimes Strategy was a very important Federal Foreign Office. The panellists were step in this regard. And it was encouraging that Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European 4 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report

Commission for Democracy and Demography, rule of law, better salaries and more high-quali- Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for ty jobs. Following the video, Roth appreciated Neighbourhood and Enlargmeent, Gent Cakaj, the “clear words” of the young people and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Alba- asked the panellists to comment on what they nia, Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla, Foreign Minister think of the requests of these young people of Kosovo, Srđan Darmanović, Foreign Minister and on what ideas they have to improve the sit- of Montenegro, Bujar Osmani, Foreign Minister uation in the region. of the Republic of North Macedonia, Josip Brkić, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and The Foreign Ministers (FMs) also appreciated Herzegovina and Pavle Janković, Head of De- the clear words by the young people and partment for Regional Initiatives at the Ministry thanked Minister Roth and Federal Foreign Min- of Foreign Affairs of Serbia. Following the Feder- ister Maas for the very important conference. al Foreign Minister’s opening speech, the West- According to the FMs, youth migration is a glob- ern Balkans’ Ministers of Foreign Affairs as well al phenomenon but especially important to the as Dubravka Šuica and Olivér Várhelyi discussed Western Balkans because of the worrying trend potential policy solutions to the current chal- that many young people prefer to emigrate to lenges together with Minister of State Michael Western European countries instead of staying Roth. in the region. The FMs recognized the conse- quences an ongoing exodus of young people Following his welcome address, moderator Mi- would have on the economic and democratic chael Roth kicked off the discussion underlining development of the region. All of the FMs that, instead of the German perspective on agreed that the problem should be tackled youth, migration and demography in the West- jointly in order to strengthen the Western Bal- ern Balkans, the focus of the conference was on kans region as a whole. the perspective of young people from the re- gion. Roth thanked the organisers of the con- Gent Cakaj especially underlined the impor- ference, the Southeast Europe Association and tance to improve rule of law mechanisms the Aspen Institute Germany, as well as the through political reforms and thereby fight cor- think-tank Cross border Factory for their very ruption and organized crime. He thanked the EU intensive preparation over the past months. for the recent COVID-19 help packages to the re- During over thirty meetings in weekly work- gion and emphasised the importance of eco- shops, twelve young women and men from nomic reforms in the region. The WB’s compara- across the Western Balkans discussed challeng- tively very young population, with some of the es in their home countries and across borders, youngest populations in Europe, would be an as well as possible policy approaches to tackle important asset and source of strength. There- these. In this light, Roth emphasised, especially fore, it was essential to create all the necessary these young voices should be the starting point opportunities for the younger generation to en- of the discussion with the distinguished panel- able them to change the circumstances in their lists and consequently, before starting the dis- home countries. Cakaj also criticised that the cussion a video of six young voices from the re- recent enlargement fatigue in the EU would not gion expressing their thoughts on what they ex- have had a good impact on the region. There- pect from their governments for young people fore, the new measurement for EU association to stay in the region was shown. would be a big step towards a further integra- tion into the EU. In the video the young people openly criticized a rampant nepotism, corrupt governments, and Michael Roth reminded the panellists that the a precarious job market in the Western Balkans. young people in the video were mentioning To solve the exodus from the Western Balkans worries about corruption in their countries. (WB), they demanded from their governments a The rule of law and the fight against corrup- free high-quality education, a public health in- tion were key aspects for visa liberalisations surance, an ecologically healthy environment, and for further European integration through equal chances through the strengthening of the the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 5

Roth pointed out that the ranking in the Trans- young people. Darmanović highlighted the im- parency International Corruption Index of the portant work on intercultural education that the Republic of Kosovo has worsened over the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) would past years. Therefore, he asked if it was not be doing to establish stronger ties between the time to reverse this trend and which actions young people in the Western Balkans. the government in Kosovo plans to take on Bujar Osmani also agreed on the importance of that. the topic and laid emphasis on the essentials: to engage, empower and enable young people. Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla stated that young Therefore, Osmani explained, the awareness of people in the region were an untapped poten- young people that they were critical for the fu- tial and acknowledged that there was still a lot ture of the region should be raised through a more the governments in the region could do process of active listening to their needs. To concerning that topic. She criticized that the give the youth a sense of empowerment at Kosovar youth would still be afraid of crossing home instead of somewhere else, it was neces- the border to Serbia because they would possi- sary to create regional educational and profes- bly get arrested. Therefore, the Foreign Minister sional opportunities. By including young people emphasized the need to work together on in policy making, they would be enabled to di- building a future for the youth in the WBs. They rectly participate in future developments. Ac- had the same hopes and aspirations and were cording to Osmani, the EU integration promise confronted with the same challenges and has been and would continue to be a driving needs. Consequently, Haradinaj-Stublla ap- factor of transformation in the region. pealed to her colleagues, the WB peoples should treat each other as equal and with mu- Josip Brkić highlighted the incriminatory effect tual respect in order to succeed facing the de- the EU’s closed border policy would have on mographic challenge. Furthermore, she ex- Bosnia and Herzegovina considering the immi- pressed her disappointment about the fact that gration of refugees, who would have to live un- Kosovo was the only country without the right der miserable conditions. Simultaneously, Brkić to free travel to the EU. As a consequence, continued, Bosnia and Herzegovina was the Kosovars would feel less equal than other WB hardest hit country in the WB concerning youth countries, especially considering the fact that emigration due to the fact that the country’s EU requirements were met for the past eight youth saw few opportunities at home. Especial- years. Haradinaj-Stublla concluded that visa ly young education and healthcare workers, but liberalisation would not only enable free travel, also engineers would leave the country in mas- but also mutual exchange and development sive numbers. The student exchange program which would be a requirement to build a future Erasmus plus would be good for the country together. since young people who studied abroad would mostly stay in their host country in case they Michael Roth agreed and assured that visa liber- find a job. Therefore, intra-regional and fu- alisation was an issue the EU would also be ture-oriented measures, such as the mutual fighting for. Asking the Foreign Minister of Mon- recognition of higher education, the develop- tenegro how it felt to be the frontrunner in the ment of a regional economic area and free WB considering EU integration, Roth pointed out movement in the Western Balkans would be the decisive phase Montenegro was in. Srđan necessary. Considering inter-regional relations Darmanović emphasized that, regardless of the between the WB and the EU, Brkić appealed to fact that Montenegro had one of the lowest engage in re-migration efforts in order to youth emigration rates in the WBs, it would be a strengthen the market of healthcare and other regional problem concerning all WB countries. workers that the EU would currently tap into. Darmanović recognized the need of young peo- ple for security and stability in order to stay in Pavle Janković subscribed to the notion that the region. Therefore, the WBs should work on youth emigration would be a burning topic that increasing job-specific skills and working condi- all WB countries were facing. He regarded un- tions in the region to involve and empower certainties concerning the new integration 6 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report within the region and a lack of employment op- acquire skills needed in the economy. This portunities as main reasons for the brain drain. would include the development of a new and After mentioning the importance of projects digital economy in the region. Várhelyi ex- like RYCO and other initiatives that were under plained that a youth guarantee scheme that way in Serbia to tackle the problem, Janković would be launched in 2021 would provide emphasised the commitment in the region to- everybody under 29 years of age within four wards joint action between the WB and the EU. months of becoming unemployed or leaving the former education with good quality offers of Dubravka Šuica asserted that the topic of de- employment or continued education in the mography was a burning issue for the EU be- form of apprenticeships or traineeships. cause it affects all parties. She assured that the challenges revealed by the reports of the online After the discussion, the young people from the preparatory workshops before the conference, region were included and posed questions to such as depopulation, ageing and intergenera- the ministers. The young people expressed their tional solidarity, would be addressed in the EU disappointment over the lack of concrete ideas strategy in 2021 which aimed to achieve fair ac- by the ministers and asked what lessons were cess to education and more democratic partici- learned from the past to adopt measures to in- pation of young people. The EU’s nine billion crease re-migration and if there were any pos- Euro economic plan for the WB would be a sibilities besides reforming the rule of law, deep commitment to provide help. According to which would target the problem more urgently. Šuica, the WB belongs to the European Union, Dubravka Šuica reaffirmed that the EU was lay- and she assured that the EU would be the WB’s ing a foundation for young people to stay in or friend and partner and that the future of the come back to their home countries by investing countries lies in the EU. heavily in the region and providing young emi- grants within the EU with professional training Olivér Várhelyi subscribed to the deep commit- they could bring back to their countries of ori- ment of the EU by pointing out the goals of the gin. Olivér Várhelyi addressed the brain drain by recently adopted Economic and Investment explaining, that there was no “silver bullet” to plan: the first goal was to support the creation solve the problem quickly. Instead, it would of jobs primarily through facilitating access to take at least ten years to bring actual change by finance for the small and medium-sized enter- implementing the necessary steps, such as: en- prises and young entrepreneurs. The second abling conditions in the economy that provide goal of the plan was to increase the employa- economic growth, creating an investor’s climate bility of young people in the WB by contributing to create interesting jobs for the youth in the to their skill sets. And lastly, the plan aimed to region and providing the youth with the skills support young people to participate in deci- necessary to take these jobs. sion-making and regional cooperation. The Eu- ropean Investment package was mainly struc- Gent Cakaj insisted that the development of tured on connectivity to stimulate the economic rule of law indeed contributed to youth re-mi- development and governance of the region. Be- gration and elaborated the experiences Albania sides investments in transport, energy, environ- would have made in recent years with measures ment, digitalization, and the private sector, fighting organized crime and corruption at the helping the youth would also be a major con- highest levels of government. Paired with eco- cern to the plan. nomic growth, these improvements in the rule of law would have significantly decreased the Várhelyi claimed that the plan entailed privi- number of young Albanians wanting to leave leged trade relations with the EU and promoted the country over the course of the past years. regional economic integration, which would in- Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla took up the idea of a crease economic growth in the region by seven youth advisory body addressing demographic percent. According to Várhelyi, skill mismatch challenges and proposed to link it to the represented a big challenge to the region. Kosovar government’s effort to establish a re- Therefore, the EU tried to help young people to gional start-up hub in Prizren. She imagined Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 7 that Prizren could be developed to a sort of Sil- Opening Panel: Young People in the Western icon Valley of the Western Balkans and invited Balkans – “Should I stay or should I go?” all the other governments to participate in the The opening panel was presented by Adelheid project and create a regional platform for the Wölfl, Southeast Europe Correspondent, Der initiative. Srđan Darmanović stated that a start- Standard, Sarajevo. The political representatives up hub or other things of comparative advan- in the panel were Michael Roth, Minister of tage to other regions and countries indeed State, Federal Foreign Office, Federal Republic of would be a reason for young people to stay in Germany, Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the their home countries. He gave the example of European Commission for Democracy and De- the Southeast European International Institute mography and Nikola Dimitrov, Deputy Prime for Sustainable Technology as an opportunity Minister for European Integration, North Mace- for young people to become successful in their donia. The young representatives from the own countries. Western Balkans were Marjola Memaj (28), Co-founder and former Regional Representative Bujar Osmani remembered that migration and at Western Balkans Alumni Association; working brain-drain were an inevitable phenomenon in as a Communication and Policy support with a globalized world. The overarching goal there- EuroFIR AISBL in Brussels, Samir Beharić (29), fore should be to transform migration into Board Member of the Western Balkans Alumni brain circulation rather than trying to stop it. Association and a recent graduate of University According to Osmani, the psychological frame of Vienna and Leipzig University, Egzona Bokshi was such, that in the WBs people would always (26), engaged in the project “Empowering Youth compare the perspectives in the region to the for a Peaceful, Prosperous and Sustainable Fu- perspectives they could have in the EU. There- ture in Kosovo” funded by the UN Secre- fore, Osmani concluded, there was no better tary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund, Nina Dra- platform to try solve that problem than a com- kulić (27), currently working as a telecommuni- bination of the European Perspective and an in- cation engineer; graduated from the Faculty of tegration of the region into a common regional Electrical Engineering in Podgorica and founded market with over 18 million people. Josip Brkić the NGO Montenegrobotics, Tomica Stojanovic recalled the promise given in Thessaloniki in (27), graduated from the University of Econom- 2003 to integrate the WB countries into the EU ics, Skopje; worked for Peace Corps North Mace- once they would meet the criteria. Only a cou- donia and at the youth organization Mladiinfo ple of countries have succeeded in doing so International and Nenad Jevtović (28), Director and Brkić would never be tired from pushing of the Institute for Development and Innova- Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the EU. tion, member of the Coordination Body for Monitoring Flows of Economic Migration at the Pavle Janković summed up that over the past Serbian Ministry of Labor. nine years, the WBs had been working on a closer cooperation within the region. According Chairwoman Adelheid Wölfl together with the to Janković the 1990s had destroyed trust in the panellists discussed young people’s reasons to WBs and now they would be creating trust in leave or stay in the region. First, the six young the region to engage and work together towards representatives each presented their views on a common regional market. It would be a long the most important aspects in tackling the way towards free travel in the region without problem of mass emigration and asked the prejudices and feelings of anger, but it would three present representatives of the EU, Germa- be something they would need to work on. ny and North Macedonia questions regarding Janković asked to speed up the opening of these aspects. Marjola Memaj was the first chapters and the engagement with other coun- young representative to share insights into tries in the region without prejudices. what she considered important in addressing the problem of mass emigration. She empha- sised the lack of democratic culture in the Western Balkan countries. Responsible citizens with democratic values were needed to create 8 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report the circumstances necessary to prevent the tion would be a necessary step towards that mass emigration of young people. A way to go goal. Investments were necessary to reduce the about the absence of a democratic culture and push-factors behind emigration, such as high the resulting structural weakness of democratic unemployment rates, low salaries, and the lack institutions in the Western Balkans was civic of a perspective of a prosperous life for young education. In order to build a society of demo- people. EU funds were already directed at cratic, responsible citizens it was necessary to strengthening education and environmental educate people in the values of democracy and protection in the region. But remittances would the role of citizens at civil society centres in also have to target investments in the region. each of the Western Balkan countries. These There were cases of emigrants who came back civil society centres needed to be independent and invested in their home countries by for ex- from politics and political parties and had to ample establishing companies. But these cases focus on educating people about their rights were very rare, indicating a lack of trust in the and opportunities in shaping their societies as system and the rule of law in the emigrants’ responsible citizens. home countries. To find out where to start ad- dressing the problem of low investments it was Finally, Memaj asked Dubravka Šuica if the EU necessary to ask people who had already tried would be willing to support building six educa- to invest in the region but had failed to do so tional civic society centres in the Western Bal- successfully, Dimitrov said. kan countries. Šuica fully agreed that there was a need for educating the citizens of the Western A very pressing issue for the region, according Balkans at centres for civic education and af- to Samir Beharić, was the mobility across the firmed that democracy could only live off action region. Especially student mobility in the West- and participation at all levels of society. De- ern Balkans was underdeveloped due to lacking mocracy was only able to succeed in a society mutual acceptance of degrees or visa restric- that developed a democratic mentality by living tions. Considering financial and institutional and practicing democratic values in all aspects help, the Western Balkans could not compete of life. The “Western Balkans Youth Lab” was an with the countries in the EU. Therefore, aca- example of successful civic education in the re- demics often depended on European student gion and initiatives like this were important to mobility programs, such as Erasmus plus. Mo- foster a democratic outlook. bility within the region, especially considering visa restrictions on travels to Kosovo would Nenad Jevtović acknowledged that remittance need to be improved. Beharić recommended to payments – the money transferred back home liberalise visa restrictions across the Western by emigrants – were very important for the Balkans and to establish a student mobility economies of the Western Balkan countries. programme similar to the Erasmus programme This foreign income was significantly improving within the region in order to tackle the problem the recipients’ quality of life in the region. But, of emigration of academics to the EU, which led as Jevtović emphasised, remittances could not to severe brain drain. be regarded as a generator of future develop- ment and growth because the investment rate Beharić doubted the chances for a liberalisa- of remittances was very low. Asking Nikola Dim- tion of intra-regional mobility without the fi- itrov, Jevtović wanted to know how remittances nancial and technical support of the EU and were currently used and how their investment therefore asked State Minister Michael Roth if rate could be increased. the German government would encourage the European Commission to provide such support Nikola Dimitrov recognised that remittances especially for students. Michael Roth praised were helping the Western Balkans’ economies Erasmus plus to be a success story both for the in the short term. But in order to build up a Western Balkans and for the EU and announced sustainable economic growth model, invest- that the EU would soon invest 50 percent more ments were needed and directing remittances funds in the Erasmus plus programme. But, as towards more investment rather than consump- Roth pointed out, a vivid democracy needed Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 9 committed democrats. The EU was not only an the organisational capacity for the development economic union, but also a union of values. of digitalisation. These values had to be created in the Western Balkans through interconnectivity, mobility, and Tomica Stojanovic criticised a growing EU scepti- especially regional reconciliation, which was cism in the region and especially in North Mace- one of the most important goals of the Berlin donia. The country had just resolved its name Process. EU visa liberalisation for Kosovo was issue with Greece, which had been very difficult, on the way, especially since Kosovo had met all but provided a sense of hope towards accession the required criteria. inside the country. Therefore, the French objec- tion to the accession was very surprising and to- Egzona Bokshi reminded the panellists that gether with new obstacles to the accession Kosovo held two European records – it had the coming from its eastern neighbour Bulgaria, the youngest population in Europe and the highest frustration within the country would be very unemployment rate among young people. Ac- high. Consequently, Stojanovic wanted to know cording to her, one in two young Kosovars from Michael Roth if Germany as the current would want to leave the country for Europe. Es- chair of the European Council, would stand pecially in times of a pandemic, global warm- strong on the side of North Macedonia. Roth re- ing, and mass migration the national approach plied that he fully understood the impatience to problems did not work and it was necessary and concerns towards accession. The changed to go beyond national politics to tackle these methodology of the enlargement process would, issues. Young people from the Western Balkans according to Roth, bring the Western Balkan shared the same values as the ones in the EU countries in a delicate situation. With respect to and would want to see their societies develop the rule of law, expectations of the Western Bal- along these lines. Therefore, young people kans were as high as towards member states of should have a seat on the table in discussions the EU. Roth stressed that it was the rule of law, on European integration. After all, Europe the fight against corruption and the regional would not be complete without the Western reconciliation that would be the main topics Balkans and an intra-regional integration pro- right now. Therefore, political leadership espe- ject without the EU would not be complete ei- cially within the region was necessary to over- ther. come the mentioned disputes, nobody outside the region understood the complexity of the Nina Drakulić raised the issue of fostering the problems between the countries as well as the engineering industry and developing the digi- actors within the region. talisation of the region. Digitalisation would help solve many problems, such as raising It was also necessary to strengthen the visibility awareness of the need to improve air quality in of the EU in the region by being vocal and visi- the region, considering that pollution was one ble not only with money but with clear support of the main reasons for premature deaths. The concerning the pandemic, the climate and digi- Western Balkans were in dire need of techno- talisation right now, Roth said. Political vacu- logical advancement in order to be part of re- ums in the Western Balkans would quickly be cent technological developments that could filled by other actors. But Turkey, Russia and help tackle the pressing issues that made China were not interested in strengthening val- young people emigrate. Nikola Dimitrov agreed ues like democracy and the rule of law. Roth with Drakulić and added that digitalisation agreed that the EU was “exhausting and chal- would also help fight corruption and would lenging” especially because of its focus on top- make public administration more efficient and ics like these, but accession negotiations with accessible – thus, digitalisation was a major Albania and North Macedonia were still under driver of regional development. Dimitrov accen- way. The EU was currently confronted with tuated that the EU was currently pursuing the many problems and crises, but the EU should development of broadband infrastructure in the not allow that the people of the Western Bal- region. European funds were ready but it was kans would have to pay the bill for these prob- the actors in the region that did not possess lems. The EU needed to be strengthened and 10 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report simultaneously do its best to strengthen the figures he had recently collected and analysed. accession perspective of the Western Balkan According to this study, the main reasons for states. Minister of State Michael Roth concluded emigration were the higher living standards in the discussion with the statement that the the EU as well as frustration with the level of Western Balkans were not the EU’s backyard but corruption, lack of meritocracy and disregard its courtyard. for human rights in their home countries. Caught between these simultaneous pull- and Panel I: Leaving the Region – push-factors, the survey respondents moreover Facts, Trends and Challenges said to be experiencing a “lack of vision for Ambassador Susanne Schütz, Director for their country” that could possibly have lifted South-Eastern Europe, Turkey, EFTA States, OSCE their spirits and given them the strength to and the Council of Europe in the Federal Foreign build a future back home rather than abroad. Office, Berlin presented the panelists and the What is more, unlike inside the EU where many discussion. The panellists were Miran Lavric, As- young migrants plan to move abroad for around sociate Professor of Sociology, University of Mar- five years before returning to their place of ori- ibor, Peter Van der Auweraert, Chief of Mission, gin, youngsters from the Balkans for the most Regional Coordinator for the Western Balkans, part intend to move for a minimum of 20 years, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), if not forever, Lavric elaborated. Generally Sarajevo, Danica Santic, Associate Professor, speaking, a kind of circular migration between Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade, the Western Balkans and the EU was, alas, Francine Pickup, Resident Representative, UNDP nothing but a myth, Lavric had found. On a Serbia, Belgrade and Tomica Stojanovic, Gradu- more positive note, however, the findings indi- ate from the University of Economics, Skopje. cated that the closer to the EU and the more developed a country was, the more likely the Prior to the discussion, a short video clip by young emigrants were to return. Lavric there- German English-language broadcaster Deutsche fore concluded that the Europeanisation of the Welle was shown, introducing the topic. The Western Balkans was a good and effective step 5-minute documentary presented a handful of forward and should be advanced as much as young people from the Balkans, expressing the possible. In response, Ambassador Schütz af- motives behind their departures for a new life firmed the importance of the Western Balkans’ in the EU. To the tune of a local pop song about European integration in the long term. emigration, the youngsters shed light on the desperation they were feeling in their respec- Peter Van der Auweraert’s impressions from the tive hometowns. “Nevena has two diplomas, but field matched the results of Lavric’s research. nothing to do – no job for her. With her pass- However, in his experience, migration from the port, [and a] one-way ticket she is going away – Western Balkans was not just about deprived is it forever?”, the singer was humming in the young people but also about middle-class par- background as the interviewees explained how ents even, who often had a car, a house and a they were hoping to make more of their lives by good job, but who were worried for the future leaving their country. Their statements featured of their children and therefore decided to leave. objectives as diverse as gaining better qualifi- In doing so, they willingly stepped back eco- cations, being able to work in the profession nomically themselves so that their children they were trained in or freeing themselves from would have better life chances. The focal point a corrupted system that simply had failed them of migration hence remained the Balkan youth in their view. The compiled remarks set the but this phenomenon added another layer of tone for the subsequent expert discussion and, complexity to it in which migration was con- as it turned out, gave a fairly crisp idea of the ceived as a sort of investment by well-to-do driving forces behind Western Balkan (WB) families. In Van der Auweraert’s view, this was youth migration into the EU. largely due to a high level of insecurity in ob- taining jobs in the private sector, as a lot of job Miran Lavric presented his core findings about offers went by party affiliation, required an in- WB youth migration in the shape of statistical formal ‘fee’, or risked being unstable to the ex- Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 11 tent that the salary might simply not be paid should also enquire into the motivations, ideas out or the respective company might easily go and ways of reasoning of the young migrants in bankrupt altogether. order to gain a more in-depth understanding of how they arrived at their decision to move Van der Auweraert therefore spoke of an evi- abroad and under what conditions they might dent dilemma: in order for change to happen, it return: “We must look at what is in the heads, was essential that the youth became politically not just at the number of heads.” This, she active and did not leave politics to the old alarmed the audience, was of paramount im- elites. In fact, by now there were even gaps in portance as current UNDP data was showing the Bosnian labour market that could not be that the Serbian population was to decrease by filled. However, at the same time, he admitted 30 percent over the next 30 years if outward that if he were to be a Bosnian parent himself, migration was not brought to a halt. his advice to his children would be just as much the same: “Go to Germany, if you can.” His This trend not only posed demographic chal- statement thus revealed a collective action lenges but was a serious development issue, as problem among the Balkan youth that called it resulted in a shrinking workforce, a shrinking for further research into the matter and that tax base, and a devastation of rural areas. Final- definitely would have to be addressed for a ly, Pickup, who is an anthropologist by training, solution to be found. contradicted Santic in saying that the reasons were not only economic but that there was also Danica Santic presented a recent study of hers a cultural aspect to it in the sense that young in which she had investigated migration from people were perceived as successful if they left and inside Serbia in the present day and with the country – and as the complete opposite if regard to the future. On this basis, Santic ar- they returned. Therefore, waiting for economic gued that there was a very high “migration po- improvement was not enough but a new narra- tential” in Serbia of which only nine percent tive around migration and social development were directed at Belgrade whereas the rest was had to be created. toying with the idea of moving abroad since they were seeking “crucial change”. These peo- Last but not least, Tomica Stojanovic contribut- ple were not migrating for the sake of migra- ed the perspective of a young person from the tion itself but purely to reach a higher living Balkans to the discussion, saying that, today, for standard. This trend increasingly involved en- him and his peers, their outlook on the future tire families and not only the young. However, was very clear and dichotomous: there were vir- along the same line, Santic also gave a sign of tually no career prospects in the Western Bal- hope, arguing that, in turn, most people would kans whereas there seemed to be plenty in stay if the economic situation was to improve Western Europe. Those who migrated simply and there were better educational possibilities could not imagine a happy life in their home for their children. In the direction of policy- region, and the economic aspect was definitely makers, she therefore recommended to focus the main reason for that. But also, the general on increasing young people’s employability quality of life played a role with factors such as and their skills to match with the demands of poor health care, a poor education system, pol- the local economy as well as to facilitate re- lution and limited freedom of religion as well turns back to Serbia. as social discrimination relating to sexual ori- entation and the like. Above all, the Western In a similar vein, Francine Pickup called for a lot Balkans needed more investments, but it re- more research to be done on returnees to the mained questionable if that in itself was Western Balkans, as she confirmed the insuffi- enough to remedy the causes of youth migra- cient availability of data, which also Van der tion as a whole. Auweraert had mentioned. In doing so, Pickup emphasised that this should not only happen During the discussion, the audience was par- at the level of quantitative surveys and statisti- ticularly interested in what the WB states were cal data collection of migration trends, but doing to combat corruption, what to do about 12 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report the lack of data, whether emigration led to an population and young couples who wanted to increase in nationalism in the region, and what have children. That was because next to emigra- the EU could do to hold the WB elites more ac- tion, countries like Serbia were also seeing a countable. One participant also raised the co- steep fall in birth rates. Overall, it became clear nundrum of why people from the WB trusted that today’s challenges of the Western Balkans foreign health care systems more than the sys- were a continuation of those of the 2000s: tem they were managing themselves. democratisation and economic transition.

In response, Lavric explained that those citizens Panel II: The Effects of Emigration on the who were most critical of the respective regime Countries of Origin were the most likely to leave, diminishing the The panel was presented by Tim Judah, Balkan ratio of political opposition and definitely Correspondent, The Economist, London. The heightening the general level of nationalism. panellists were Mihail Arandarenko, Professor, According to Santic, the general attitude among Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade, critical citizens was that if they could not Anita Richter, Senior Policy Analyst & Project change the regime, at least they could change Leader South East Europe Regional Programme, their lives. As a result, there was little political OECD, Paris, Edo Omic, Directorate for European interest among the elites to attract migrants Cooperation & Strategy, Council of Europe De- back home and returnees were often unwel- velopment Bank, Paris and Andrea Micanovic, come. Youth Representative of Montenegro in the Governing Board of RYCO, Podgorica. This problem went hand in hand with the lack of data that in particular Pickup emphasised, Migration not only impacts the countries peo- calling it a key issue that demanded a lot more ple move to but also those they leave behind. attention. As a first step, UNDP for example was As the first panel of the second conference day pairing up with LinkedIn and Google Trends to had already indicated, across the Balkans, the generate some sort of big data that would allow depopulation of rural regions, brain drain, and to obtain a clearer picture of the structure of a rise in nationalism are just some of the wide- outward migration. As a result, UNDP had found spread consequences of outward youth migra- for instance that especially doctors and engi- tion. After the preceding discussion had fo- neers were leaving for Germany. With such in- cused on how the Balkan countries caused formation, local governments could then more their young people to emigrate, the second specifically focus on creating the respective panel therefore zoomed in on how they were jobs back home and thereby attract returnees affected by this very emigration. The panel’s as well as foreign migrants. overall conclusion was that, essentially, the Balkans had become tangled up in a vicious Van der Auweraert meanwhile put a strong em- circle in which the main effect of emigration phasis on the lack of good governance, which was the worsening of its causes: economically, was the source of most ills across the provision socially and politically. In his introductory re- of public services. For him, the problem re- marks, Tim Judah picked up on a conclusion mained “hardcore political”. As a consequence, from the previous panel debate that youth em- the EU’s efforts should be directed at support- igration existed in parallel with other demo- ing political change and making young people graphic challenges to the region, namely a becoming part of that. Without such a funda- dropping fertility rate and rising labour short- mental transformation, he was very pessimistic age. Taken together, these changes in the Bal- about any returns to take place – policy pro- kan population were putting their economies grammes which specifically focused on returns in existential jeopardy. were but a drop in the ocean. Speaking of dangers to the economy, Mihail Pickup added that such a transformation should Arandarenko focused his contribution on the furthermore entail investments particularly in topic of remittances and the public sector. With small town infrastructure to support the ageing regard to the latter, he described the Balkan Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 13 political economy as a system of “loyalty or ex- er achieved long-term effects. Moreover, they it”: either you were loyal to those in power and could stop at any point, as we were witnessing thereby received one of the few jobs in the right now as a result of the pandemic. His plea public sector or, if this failed, you left the coun- was to invest more broadly in the professional try and tried your luck in the private sector skills and training of the Balkan population. abroad. In any case, the domestic private sector, which ideally should provide the lion share of Of course, he said, he was aware that thanks to employment opportunities to citizens, was nev- such skills many would then especially emi- er considered a worthwhile option as it lagged grate and look for jobs abroad in which they far behind the West and jobs in the public sec- could use them. But it was a fact, he stressed, tor on the whole were both more stable and that a certain part of the population would al- better paid. ways stay and work in local jobs that were at a Apart from opportunities, it was also the cur- high risk of automation. In total, this concerned rency exchange rate that made even low-paid about 60 percent of the Western Balkan work- jobs abroad more profitable than local job of- force. Hence, to prevent even more unemploy- fers. As a result, domestic economies were sub- ment, these employees had to be prepared for stantially living off foreign remittances. These the future. As a positive example, he mentioned were often viewed in a positive light and re- that today’s EU transfers to the Western Balkans garded as some kind of informal development were therefore directed at educational invest- aid. However, their negative side effect was to ment in order to reduce the persisting problem distort the market back home and ultimately of skills mismatch in the region. Citing social causing a vicious circle of migration, remittanc- research, Omic argued that the more education es, and inequality. people would receive, the more inequalities (al- so between genders) could be reduced. But as Continuing the unfortunate theme of vicious things stood, the Balkan economies still heavily circles, Anita Richter reflected on the impact of relied on agriculture, and female employment the current COVID-19 pandemic on the Balkan was very low. economies and their outward migration flows. In her assessment, these flows had dramatically Sharing personal insights from her work as a dropped due to the pandemic. The global eco- youth representative in Montenegro, Andrea nomic landscape after the pandemic was likely Micanovic pointed out that she herself was fac- to look considerably worse and would deter- ing the same dilemma as everyone else of her mine what migratory movements we would age in the Western Balkans: should she stay, or face. In the Western Balkans, the gross domestic should she leave? This dilemma particularly product had been dropping massively over the presented itself to the educated youth who past months, leading to higher unemployment found themselves in a catch-22: they had both rates, which were already 2 percent higher than the abilities and the interest to bring about im- in 2019. In particular youth unemployment had provement in their home countries, but thanks skyrocketed. Considering that the Western Bal- to the very same abilities they were also the kan economies were hit significantly harder most likely to emigrate in order to first of all than those of the OECD, a post-pandemic rise in improve their own lives. Put in one sentence, migration pressure towards Western Europe had Micanovic and her peers were caught between to be expected. civic responsibility and personal ambitions. As a result, qualifying people ended up reinforcing Building upon these two analyses of the current outward migration rather than supporting local situation, Edo Omic explored ideas on what development. could be done in the future to improve things. More specifically, he asked the question of how During the Q&A with the audience, the nega- the transfer of funds to the region, both in the tive side effects of education as well as the shape of remittances and funds from interna- more general question of what could keep tional bodies such as EU grants, could be made people at home or make migrants return, were more sustainable. For the time being, they nev- the major topics of discussion. In the view of 14 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report

Anita Richter, despite the concerns Andrea dered whether the COVID-19 pandemic might Micanovic had raised, there was no alternative have unleashed a general change in work cul- to improving education in the Western Balkans tures towards teleworking, which could cause and reducing skills mismatch, as also Edo Om- people to work in Western Europe but live in ic had called for. That was because even edu- the Balkans. cated people in the Western Balkans were lacking the skills that were required on the While the last suggestion was generally deemed market and, as a result, potential investors unlikely for various reasons (unsustainable simply could not find the people they needed. working method, question of tax base, potential However, Richter did concede that the chal- for drops in salaries), Richter did see the possi- lenge of people emigrating in order to use bility of future digital jobs being outsourced their new skills abroad was real and enormous from Western Europe. In this scenario, the and had to be addressed in light of an increas- Western Balkans could be a taker of these jobs, ingly widening wage gap. but they would be competing with African countries. Therefore, improving people’s qualifi- Responding to the subsequent question of cations was, yet again, crucial. Meanwhile, her what could be done to motivate well educated interpretation of the great demand for jobs in people to stay in their home countries, Andrea the public sector was that there was an un- Micanovic suggested that more data be collect- tapped potential for entrepreneurialism, which ed on how many youths had left and why. On could be activated if the right socio-economic the basis of these insights, a new narrative conditions were created that would give people could be forged that young people were impor- the necessary stability to try. Finally, Richter tant and welcome to stay in their home country curtailed her optimism however by reminding to increase their feeling of commitment. This everyone that there were also other, socio-cul- should be done in conjunction with fostering tural and political, reasons why people were youth activism in the region and co-operation emigrating from the Western Balkans. among the Western Balkans, not only economi- cally but also socially through joint education In this vein, the speakers also had a vivid ex- programmes. With regard to education, she change on the nexus of corruption, emigration agreed with the previous speakers that skills and returns. According to Micanovic, this topic, mismatch should be addressed by offering too, was linked to education. In her view, it was more practical education as well. young people’s lack of a civic formation as well as the dominant narrative that for them the Finally, Omic further elaborated his aforemen- biggest success would be to leave the country tioned thoughts on ramping up investment in and make it abroad that were holding them education by implementing what he called “tar- back from getting politically involved. This nar- geted education”. This would specifically ad- rative was already transmitted at high school. dress the gaps in the current system. Underlin- Agreeing with Richter, she expressed that the ing his point, he claimed that the most educat- economics were not the only reason why young ed in the Western Balkans were still equal in people were leaving but also the feeling that it terms of generic qualifications to Western Eu- was sheerly impossible for them to succeed in rope’s bottom 25 percent in the Pisa score. This their country other than by means of nepotism. urgently had to be improved. Her own case showed that it was possible, Micanovic said, but it was a rare exception. On the issue of migrant departures and their possible returns, the audience was especially Along the same line, Omic claimed that the interested in how people from the Western Bal- likelihood that someone would come back once kans could be motivated more to take up the they were in Germany, was extremely low. While fight with the high level of corruption locally corruption certainly had a major negative im- rather than to leave, and in how the social stig- pact, he added that when people were getting ma that potential returnees would be facing, older, they were increasingly thinking about could be addressed. One speaker also won- their children and the opportunities these Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 15 would or would not have as well as the health to gain work experience at a local company. As care system they were subjected to. Both of an illustrative example, she told how differently these were considerably better abroad than in her father and mother had reacted to her mov- the Balkans. Hence, even if people could be ing abroad. While her mother was delighted to convinced at a young age to stay home, it was know her in the Federal Republic, associating it highly important to create the respective infra- with high-quality products and abundant cul- structure so that they would also stay in the tural heritage, her father was rather worried long run. about her being so far away on her own and felt relieved upon her return. Milena, mean- Spotlights on Migration Experiences while, steered a middle course: for her, it was The panel was presented by Frank Morawietz, clear that Serbia was her home and that she Managing Director Crossborder Factory / Special would go back, and it was for this reason that Envoy for Southeast Europe, Franco-German she wanted to make the most out of her stay Youth Office (FGYO), Berlin and Antje Müller, Pro- abroad. Her story parallels those of many Eras- gramme Director, Zoran Djindjic Internship Pro- mus students from across the EU who are more gramme of German Business, Berlin. The Panel- driven by pull than push factors, and who sub- lists were Milena Popin (32), Belgrade: “Life sequently bring their newly gained knowledge abroad was like brain storming, and the fine back home. Listing what she had liked about tuning of ideas came after I came back to my the work culture she had experienced in Ger- home country.” Ismar Hačam (29), Berlin / Sara- many, Milena was a personified example of how jevo: “The reasons why I left my home country professional exchange across borders was con- became clear to me when I arrived here, when I tributing to local development. realised that I can enjoy more possibilities and a life where I can express myself more freely.” Ma- In a similar vein, Maja from Zagreb said of her- ja Baumschabel (28), Zagreb: “Living abroad in- self that she had been proud to be coming spired me to see the opportunities I did not home from abroad, despite having had profes- want to miss back home.” Uroš Milutinovic (19), sional opportunities there. That was because Ljubljana / Belgrade: “I decided to move from living abroad made her realise that the grass my home country because I didn’t feel that was always greener on the other side and that there was enough freedom and I think that what made her home country unique were her young people don’t have a good future there.” family, friends and language – things that she would not want to miss. Contrastingly to her What does it feel like to migrate from the West- own way of reasoning, she said that most peo- ern Balkans to Western Europe as a young per- ple in Croatia thought that if one had an oppor- son? What does the decision-making process tunity in Germany, one should seize it with both that such a person goes through look like, and hands. For her, however, the experience rather how does it feel to return home after having was eye-opening in the sense that she came to lived abroad? To find answers to these ques- see that this was not what she actually wanted tions, the second panel debate was followed by and what would make her happy. Her example a round of personal accounts by young people conveyed how in many Western Balkan coun- from the Balkans who had migrated to Western tries today, it simply is held to be a social con- Europe themselves. Their composition reflected sensus that life abroad is superior to life back different stages and types of migration with home, putting expectations and aspirations into Milena and Maja having gone back to their the heads of both leavers and stayers. And it countries of origin, Ismar still living in Germany, shows how social embeddedness remains the and Uroš having moved from Serbia to Slovenia. main factor behind a circular migration with Their stories gave in-depth insights into the destination “home.” lived experiences behind a range of the topics that were discussed throughout the conference. Quite different was the perspective of Ismar from Sarajevo who decided to move to Berlin Milena from Belgrade shared her experiences “very spontaneously” when he received a schol- from her stay in Germany where she had gone arship to study at a university in Germany. For a 16 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report long time, he had been planning to study more people from the Balkans, this panel also espe- and once arrived by the Spree, he said that life cially focused on the topic of education. Ad- in Germany was “perfect.” He had run away dressing the issue from the vantage point of from nationalism in Bosnia and while he was businesses and economic development, Maja conscious that this also existed in Germany, he reiterated the claim made in the previous panel stressed that in his new home, “at least,” he debates that education in the Western Balkans could be a political activist and have the feeling should provide students with more practical ex- that he could achieve something in doing so. In perience. This was echoed by Milena who re- Bosnia, in contrast, such activism seemed rath- garded it as a problem that many Balkan youths er hopeless. Ismar’s example made tangible were staying very long at university, being intel- why the lack of opportunities both in an eco- lectually educated upon graduation but then nomic and a civic sense was so hard to bear for having no job opportunities whatsoever. many young people in the Balkans: because not only did their situation feel bad, but also it felt Moreover, Milena criticised the Serbian school like it was impossible to improve it – so you system for prioritising respect for authority over might as well leave. the ability to think critically, discuss ideas and seek explanations. Also, Ismar criticised the ed- Uroš from Belgrade strongly affirmedIsmar’s ucation he had previously received along these remarks on the role of civil rights in his deci- lines, demanding that a greater emphasis be sion to emigrate: for him, Serbia was “a dark placed on such vital generic skills as mentioned place” where young people were educated in a above rather than on students’ aptitude to “chauvinistic and sexist” way and where the memorise things. Finally, Uroš added to this free media was “oppressed.” In this light, he re- that there was a dire need for sexual education garded the lack of economic prosperity in Ser- in the Balkans to combat misogyny and trans- bia as only one of many reasons behind young phobia as well as to prevent teenage pregnan- people’s emigration next to the equally impor- cies. As he succinctly put it at the end of his re- tant lack of human rights and the omnipres- marks: “We must move away from a view of so- ence of nationalism that were pushing the ciety in which women are in the kitchen and young and outward-looking abroad. men go to war with our neighbours.”

As a result, Uroš took on the mindset of his cos- Panel III: Domestic Reforms (1) – Towards a mopolitan age-mates across the EU in wanting Better Match of Skills and Labour Markets to use his studies to live in as many European This panel was presented by Anja Quiring, Re- countries as possible, or as he put it: “I want to gional Director South Eastern Europe, German take in as much Europe as I can. I will try to Eastern Business Association, Berlin. The panel- continue doing so, and maybe I will settle down lists were Nora Hasani, Managing Director, Ger- at some point, maybe even back home – but I man-Kosovar Business Association, Prishtina, don’t think so.” Uros’ example shows how for Ivana Aleksic, Senior Education Consultant Wid- many young people from the Balkans, the EU is er Europe, British Council, Belgrade, Boris Jokic, more than just a bigger labour market but em- Higher Research Associate, Institute for Social bodies the promise of a better, more “ad- Research, Zagreb, Barbara Gerber, Head of vanced” and more fulfilling life overall in vari- Global Professional Education Dräxlmaier ous regards. Inspired by transnational public Group, Vilsbiburg and Françeska Muço, Secre- discourses and the globalisation of ideas, tary General of the “Young Professionals Net- youths such as Uros start experiencing a “cul- work”, Youth Representative of Albania at RYCO, ture war” in their home country and aspire to Tirana. live a life in conformity with their values and sense of identity, which they hope to find The topical thread of improving education in abroad. the Western Balkans and reducing the skills mismatch young people were experiencing, was During the subsequent discussion led by the continued in the third panel discussion of the moderators who themselves worked with young second conference day, which sought to identify Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 17 solutions to the problem. How can the youth be professional training in the region. However, better prepared for the challenges of future la- while “the German way” could serve as a role bour market transformations? What changes in model and source of inspiration, the solution the system would this require, and how could could not be to simply transplant it to South- these be brought about? In the context of out- east Europe. This was because professional ed- ward migration, this panel, too, tackled the ucation systems always had to be adapted to question of how young people from the Balkans their specific surroundings in terms of job mar- could on the one hand receive better skills and ket, national comparative advantage and gener- on the other be prevented from using these to al education system. Moreover, the specific work abroad. skills that were required of young people today very much depended on the respective compa- As crystallized over the course of the discus- ny: while big companies were increasingly going sion, the crux of the problem was essentially towards automation and therefore needed en- the chicken-or-egg question of what had to gineers and technical experts to steer and come first to the region: skills or jobs? As long maintain their machines, smaller companies as young people could not make use of their were likely to have less specified needs. To abilities in their local surroundings, they were meet this challenge, Dräxlmeier Group was likely to leave the region altogether. However, co-operating with the government of North without an improvement of their skills, the re- Macedonia to build a new professional educa- gion was unlikely to attract any future invest- tion system together. As part of that, a pilot ments that could provide such jobs. Moreover, project had been launched, reaching out to and the panel hotly debated the general purpose of building relations with companies abroad. education and whether it was more important to train young people so that they could meet On this note, a short video clip by German Eng- the expectations of foreign investors or to edu- lish-language broadcaster Deutsche Welle was cate them so they would become politically ac- shown, presenting young Kosovars using their tive and reshape the economy and society bot- German language skills to work in Koso- tom-up. vo-based German call centres. In the view of one of the interviewees, the job combined the In her introductory remarks, Ivana Aleksic de- best of both worlds, allowing for German work- scribed the current state of vocational training ing conditions and a life in Kosovo. As a result, in the region and how its shortcomings were the interviewee professed to no longer having partly responsible for preventing young people any interest in moving abroad. from finding employment. She pointed out that the more students were progressing to the next Reacting to this example, Nora Hasani further level of education, the more expenses they zoomed in on the Kosovar case, sharing her in- would incur. This created institutionalised sights from working on the ground. Although structures of exclusion and made a high educa- Kosovo had the highest concentration of Ger- tional level simply unattainable for many. As a man speakers outside the German-speaking result, the main body of jobseekers had few world and many investors were happy to set up professional alternatives and most of them their call centres there, youth unemployment came away empty-handed. But also, those who was still at a staggering 70 percent and nine out did attain a higher level of education were of ten Kosovar women did not engage in paid struggling to find fitting jobs, as they were lack- labour. This showed that having only the cus- ing practical experience. Taken together, this tomer service sector move to Kosovo from made it very difficult for the young to enter the abroad was not enough. Instead, she posed the labour market in the first place. question of what could be done to link German investors looking for skilled workers at the cost Based on her experience of both the German of low wages more with the qualified Kosovar vocational education system and the local con- labour force. According to her impression, it was text in the Western Balkans, Barbara Gerber as if the two were “living in two different uni- agreed that there was a strong need for more verses”. 18 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report

To address this issue, more programmes creat- Likewise, Françeska Muco in her analysis de- ing such connections were needed. The German scribed the education systems of the Western development agency GIZ had already set great Balkans to be steeped in the traditions of their examples in this regard, however, they were all respective old political regimes. Therefore, more “too small and too specific”, Hasani said. At the effort had to be made to transition to an educa- same time, more effort should be invested in tion system that would teach students critical spreading information among Kosovars on what thinking and other civic skills that were the pre- kinds of skills were required of them. In this requisite for a vibrant democracy that young context, an obstacle at the social level was that people would contribute to. In the same spirit, there were societal expectations towards young she also suggested that creating more labour people in Kosovo to obtain a university degree unions in the region would be a step towards in law or social sciences, even though the pri- creating more decent employment as well. Right vate sector needed completely different, more now, young people were either accepting bad mechanical knowledge. This had to be commu- working conditions or leaving the country for nicated better in order to induce a cultural good, but hardly any of them were taking the in- change that could help reduce the aforemen- itiative to do something about the grim situation tioned skills mismatch. they were in. This had to be changed.

As a researcher in educational studies, Boris Jo- Overall, it became apparent that the different kic took a somewhat different view from conceptions of what education was all about Hasani’s, arguing that if the Western Balkans led to different conclusions as to what should only focused on teaching their youths technical be the primary goals of possible reforms. Taking skills, they would reify their position at the low- a closer look at the speakers’ statements, one, est end of the global supply chain and keep the however, starts to realise that these differences region from advancing to a Western European are not as big as they might seem. In essence, economic level more generally. In his vivid plea, both views argue for an education system that he emphasised that the Western Balkans had to provides students with more applicable knowl- ask themselves if they just wanted to be “the edge and skills – be those practical and in the mechanics for the developed world” or if they technical domain, or intellectual and of a more aspired to more; the countries of the region had generic nature. But for each side it was clear been a place of education for centuries and that young people would need to be educated they were not simply the backyard of Europe to in a more stimulating way that prepared them serve Western economies. to become active and agile both as citizens and jobseekers. Finally, linking back to the preced- Juxtaposing the needs of the economy and the ing panel debates and the aforementioned col- needs of the people, Jokic pointed to the social lective action problem, this discussion made significance of education for the functioning of even more clear that the key challenge was how civil society and asserted that the first priority to steer young people from improving their per- had to be the enhancement of young people’s sonal lives towards improving the wider econo- involvement in politics to ensure that they my and political system. themselves were building the societies they wanted to live in and were leading autono- During the Q&A session, a vivid discussion mous, fulfilling lives. To achieve this as well as among the 100 attendants flared up in the chat to equip young people with the ability to adapt function, lamenting that even the education to an ever faster changing economy, the educa- system was pervaded with corruption. A central tion systems of the Western Balkans should question was then what the EU could do to help move towards greater attention to generic in- in light of the previously discussed topic of the tellectual skills that could be used in various negative side effects of improving people’s settings. But this necessitated educational re- qualifications. As Ivana Aleksic put it, a notori- forms with a long-term perspective, which were ous saying in the Western Balkans was: “Train rarely seen on the horizon of Balkan day-to- them and they will leave. Don’t train them and day politics. they will stay.” But only making people stay Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 19 could not be an aim in itself if the conditions were Marko Kmezic, Senior Researcher, Center were as bad as they were. Hence, there was no for Southeast European Studies, University of alternative to stepping up training efforts in her Graz, Genoveva Ruiz Calavera, Director for West- view. This was seconded by Barbara Gerber, ern Balkans, DG NEAR, European Commission, who argued that even if the majority would Brussels, Dafina Peci, Secretary General of the leave, some would always stay, and those few National Youth Congress, Crossborder Factory, were enough to send a signal to foreign compa- Tirana and Lorenta Kadriu, Representative of nies that investment was possible. Attracting the Youth and Women Leadership Program, such investors required a long-term strategy Partners Kosova Center For Conflict Manage- and would cause collateral losses along the ment, Prishtina. way in terms of emigrating youths. But without it there simply was no future for the Western How can we restore hope? This was the overar- Balkans at all. ching question with which Valbona Zeneli opened the fourth and final panel debate of the Boris Jokic and Nora Hasani, too, found the lack second conference day. Another conclusion that of a long-term vision to be a major problem: had gradually arisen from the different discus- politicians were not willing to take risks, local sions throughout the day was that what was companies were not ready to invest in their em- driving young people out of the Balkans were ployees’ training, and while the citizenry was not only the present conditions but also the seeking a better education for their children, prospect that these were unlikely to change in they did not do so through organised long-term the near future. The fact that young people per- pressure on their governments. According to ceived the situation in such a way that with re- Françeska Muro, this was due to the concomi- gard to possible change it made no difference tant absence of the rule of law: under such whether they stayed or not, came out as a key conditions, people were just not motivated to element of the problem. Zeneli therefore con- invest their energies in a country where their gratulated the organisers of the conference for efforts might simply “evaporate”. having invited this many representatives of the Balkan youth so that this discussion was not on- Finally, the panel turned to the issue of percep- ly about but also with them. Now, how could this tions. Nora Hasani criticised that Kosovo’s reli- become the case in actual policymaking, too? ance on remittances worth a yearly 800 million Euro was creating a two-class society between Marko Kmezic, originating from Serbia and now recipients and non-recipients and the impres- working in Austria, presented his latest research sion that making money was easy in Germany on public perceptions in the Western Balkans whereas working in Kosovo was pointless. Simi- on what was necessary to obtain a good job larly, Ivana Aleksic said that the corruption of and what was seen to be the biggest problems the education system had lowered its quality to of the region. In summary, people of the Bal- such an extent that people no longer regarded kans were predominantly convinced that to having a degree as actually meaningful. In Bar- succeed in one’s career, one neither needed ed- bara Gerber’s experience, this then created a ucation nor a particular family background but toxic stigma of Balkan youths as being “lazy” above all social capital, that is, one had to know and “useless”, which was a major obstacle to the right people. Seen against this backdrop, it attracting foreign companies and urgently had came as no surprise that in earlier surveys, the to be fought. biggest problems were perceived to be unem- ployment and corruption. Panel IV: Domestic Reforms (2) – Strengthening Good Governance and the Inclusiveness of Strikingly, however, migration was nowhere to Policymaking be seen among the findings back then, suggest- The panel was presented by Valbona Zeneli, ing that most people deemed it to be a solution Chair of Strategic Initiatives Department, George rather than a problem. But this has changed C. Marshall European Center for Security Stud- over the past five years, when corruption over- ies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The panellists took unemployment in perceived importance 20 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report and migration suddenly entered the list of is- from the Balkans, Genoveva Ruiz Calavera pro- sues, directly jumping ahead of unemployment vided an elaborate insight into the reasoning as well. Clearly, the gradually accelerating rate of the European Commission on the matter. Es- of leavers had become a concern to local socie- sentially, her statement synthesised various ties, too. The survey data finally also triggered points that had been raised during the preced- new hypotheses on what could have led to this ing discussions into one big analysis and sub- change, indicating that rising inequalities, in sequent action plan. Her point of departure particular between the generations, had also was that the Commission and many politicians come to be seen as important problems in the across the EU were very concerned about the Western Balkans. brain drain from the Western Balkans because no country had a future without a talented Addressing this intergenerational gap as well, youth. To stop this, young people had to be in- Dafina Peci presented a range of ideas on what tegrated better into their local economies and could be done to make policymaking in the political systems. This would be achieved on Western Balkans more inclusive of young peo- the one hand through job creation and facili- ple’s perspectives. In doing so, she pictured the tated access to financing possibilities for start- Western Balkan youth as highly heterogeneous up companies and on the other hand by im- with big differences between the rural and the proving young people’s skill sets. However, in urban population as well as according to the parallel with previous assessments of the day, level of education. With this in mind, her central Ruiz Calavera stressed that this had to be done proposal was that government had to step up in conjunction with political reforms that its communications between the top policy lev- would consolidate participatory democracy, the el and the local level. Otherwise, government rule of law, and public finances. Moreover, it policies were facing a high risk of being poorly was important to stir up a cultural change implemented on the ground, wasting efforts away from corruption over to a system based and energies, and fuelling citizens’ frustrations. on merit.

Following Peci’s points on the rural-urban di- To get there, Ruiz Calavera declared that the vide as an obstacle to inclusive policymaking, onus was on the countries of the Western Bal- Lorenta Kadriu drew the attention to the exclu- kans to make the first step. It was them who sion of people from minority backgrounds and had to be seriously committed to fulfilling the those outside political parties. She herself had criteria set out by the EU: “They really must organised an advocacy campaign for more in- want it”, she said, mentioning Albania as a posi- clusion of Kosovo’s ethnic and religious minori- tive example and calling for the rest to “roll up ties in the political process. On this basis, she their sleeves and get to work”. However, it was reported that because minorities were under- crucial that these reforms were implemented represented in the dominant parties, it was for intrinsic motives and were not just fulfilled hard for them to get their voices heard. In fact, in order to reach accession. Rather, by the end this problem applied to most young people in of the accession process, governments should Kosovo. Rather than suggesting for them to join stick to these reforms every day. parties, however, Kadriu called for the institu- tionalisation of more consultations with youth Meanwhile, the Commission’s recommendations and minority representatives by leading parlia- to the national authorities were very clear. But mentarians. Getting involved in politics as a it was them who had to implement them, as young person had been incredibly difficult for there was no one-size-fits-all. Answering wor- her despite her majority background, Kadriu ries she had come across in the region, Ruiz Ca- said, from which she concluded that the road to lavera finally underlined that EU funds were di- inclusion had to be even rockier for minority rectly benefitting the people of the Western members. Balkans, not the elites, and there were strict mechanisms to control that this was happening. In response to the analyses and suggestions It was self-evident in her view that the EU could put forward by the three young professionals not leave the region to its own devices. But it Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 21 was “every single country” who had to fulfil the sion to do its best to help the Western Balkans EU’s “very clear” requirements. reach their goals and make their home region desirable a place to be in. At the start of the Questions and Answers, two members of the audience told their personal Adding to this, the three young speakers from stories of the lack of opportunities that they the Balkans on the panel contributed a few ide- had faced. While the first speaker expressed her as on what else could be done. Kmezic suggest- regret at not having been able to study in Spain ed that EU funds be diverted from Western Bal- due to the unavailability of any scholarships or kan countries that were violating the rule of law grants that would have sufficed to help her and principles of liberal democracy. Moreover, bridge the economic difference with her home the EU could consider financially compensating country Croatia, the second speaker from Koso- the Western Balkans for the brain drain they vo vented his anger about the fact that he had were suffering as Western Europe evidently was received university degrees with high grades benefitting from the incoming labour force, and still could not find a job all whilst he was such as medical workers and the like. With re- seeing his government indulging in corruption, gard to incentivising people to return to the as he said. “How could I not want to leave my Balkans, however, Kmezic was more pessimistic, country?”, he asked on a final note. saying: “We cannot bring people back. They can only decide to do so on their own. We need to The two testimonies of the unfulfilled desire to find ways to convince people to stay in the first leave the Western Balkans sparked a debate place.” The concept of circular migration for him among the panellists on how the region could was unrealistic. be made more attractive for young people to stay – and to return. Put another way, Valbona Peci and Kadriu furthermore explained that, as Zeneli, who herself was from the region and such, young people did want to stay in their had never moved back after she had left for her home countries but the reasons for which they studies, put the question to the discussants of ended up leaving were very legitimate. Peci, for how circular migration could be engendered, example, was born in another country and still that is young people going abroad to gain expe- she had decided to live in Albania. But that, she riences and maybe earnings, and subsequently underlined, was thanks to her individual cir- returning to their countries of origin. cumstances which were favourable to doing so. The governments and political parties of the In response, Ruiz Calavera began her statement Western Balkans had to seek greater contact with the words: “Please stay. If the youth does with civil society, moving from mere dialogue to not bring the change we want to see in the re- institutionalised partnerships, and should gion, who will?” She then added that there were openly address the issue of young people’s im- “no shortcuts for EU accession” as it was a mer- pending emigration. To stimulate this process, it-based process and thus demanded a lot of the EU’s IPA funding should be made condition- persistence. To make the region more attractive, al on efforts to do so. Ruiz Calavera believed that private investments had to be attracted from abroad, bringing new By the same token, Kadriu demanded that gov- opportunities right to the homes of the young ernments in the Western Balkans recognise people. For this to happen, public investment in more that young people could make substantial the Western Balkans’ rural areas, infrastructure contributions to the process of political reform and digitalisation was needed. Moreover, the and therefore should be given more ownership Western Balkans should create a common re- of the process. Still, both of them also acknowl- gional market because the small size of each edged that little would happen if young people country’s national market was inhibiting inter- themselves did not commit to making their national companies from setting foot in them. voices heard. Picking up on this, Zeneli conclud- Finally, she expressed her understanding for the ed the discussion with her final remark that young people’s frustration but assured them “young people will not be given more space – that they could count on the European Commis- they will need to claim it”. 22 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report

Panel V: Joint Measures to Foster Circular countries, such as their families and friends. Migration and Remigration Economic reasons, Glorius emphasised, mostly The panel was presented by Daniel Göler, Pro- were not a driver for remigration. fessor, Geographic Migration and Transition Studies, University of Bamberg. The panellists Still, Glorius cited a respondent: those returning were Birgit Glorius, Professor, Human Geogra- were “those who want to grow”. They regarded phy, Main Focus on European Migration, Techni- remigration as beneficial to their career devel- cal University Chemnitz, Monica Roman, Profes- opment and were committed to benefitting sor, Department of Statistics and Econometrics, their home country. By bringing back knowledge Bucharest University of Economics, Jelena Pre- to their country of origin, which was not as de- dojević-Despić, Research Associate, Institute of veloped as the country of destination, many Social Sciences, University of Belgrade, Alida would see opportunities in both: developing a Vračić, Director, Think Tank Populari, Sarajevo career because in their home country career and Samir Beharić, Board Member of the West- paths were not as settled as in the destination ern Balkans Alumni Association, Jajce. countries, and in helping to develop their coun- tries of origin. In the first panel discussion of the last confer- ence day, the panellists explored measures to Regarding the success of remigration, Glorius enhance the Western Balkans’ workforces of all pointed out that especially people who re- skills and professions. They focused on the like- turned spontaneously were experiencing strug- lihood of and best measures to foster remigra- gles integrating into the labour market. A return tion for those who would like to return to their to the country of origin needed preparation countries of origin as well as the potential of that mostly would take place in transnational circular migration between the EU and the re- networks of people who already returned and gion. The debate included examples from exist- shared their experiences. These networks were ing policies in the region as well as Southeast not governmentally organised but would rather European Member States’ experiences in this be private networks or initiated by NGOs. The field and focused on policy approaches, design, valuable contribution of these networks was al- impact and potential EU support in this area. so to tackle information asymmetries between Prior to the discussion, a short video clip by oftentimes pessimistic expectations of high ob- German English-language broadcaster Deutsche stacles upon returning and the mostly relatively Welle was shown, introducing the topic. The good circumstances for integration that they 3-min documentary presented a young journal- would find in the country. ist who, after living for three years in Prague and Berlin, returned to his home country Serbia Jelena Predojević-Despić argued that permanent and expressed the motives that made him residence in destination countries was still the come back. predominant form of emigration, however, there was a significant increase in transnational mi- The panel discussion began with moderator grant activities that was also the case among Daniel Göler asking Birgit Glorius about her re- emigrants from the Western Balkans. Especially cent study on Bulgarian students who graduat- transnational entrepreneurs were the ones that ed abroad: how and why do young people take would be able to contribute significantly to the decision to stay in the host country of their their home country’s economy because they graduation? Why do they return to their country were well-connected, both in their country of of origin? Glorius clarified that it was emigrants’ origin and destination. life-stages that most strongly influenced the decision of either staying in the country of des- Alida Vračić criticised that the solution to the tination or returning to their country of origin. problem of emigration should not be limited to The main reasons to return to their country of remigration efforts of emigrated citizens but origin were, first, that they had plans to return rather should focus on incentivising immigra- before leaving their countries and, second, the tion into the Western Balkans in general, in- importance of the social contacts in their home cluding immigrants from third countries. Vračić Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 23 emphasised that notwithstanding the help of Daniel Göler presented the result of an audi- the EU and other organisations, it was the ence survey on the question of whether return- countries of origin that had to resolve the issue ing to their home country would currently be a of emigration. Focusing on the concept of brain realistic perspective for young emigrants to drain therefore was wrong since those who did which 30 percent replied “yes” and 60 percent not emigrate would be regarded as unworthy of the respondents replied “no”. Regarding that and unable to make the change necessary. The result, Göler asked the panellists if circular mi- concept of brain drain added even more de- gration or return migration was less important structive pressure on people staying in the re- than first creating an attractive environment for gion. Vračić elaborated that especially small returnees? Or whether the return of young peo- countries could only benefit from emigration ple was the key to improvement? Birgit Glorius since the driving forces of technological innova- concluded that there could not be a clear an- tion would be mostly located in bigger, eco- swer to that question. More transparency on nomically more prosperous countries. Remigra- opportunities and constraints regarding remi- tion and the subsequent technology transfer gration was necessary since it was a very per- increased economic prosperity in the country of sonal assessment. The perceptions and prefer- origin and this was an incentive for immigration ences of good circumstances for returning from third countries. home were changing over time.

Samir Beharić agreed with Vračić and criticised Monica Roman reaffirmed that circular migra- the predominant mindset in the Western Bal- tion was beneficial to labour markets and mi- kans that individuals were only considered suc- grants themselves because of the greater expe- cessful if they left their home country. People rience and knowledge of returnees. Return mi- were pushed to leave the country because gration should therefore be encouraged by there was the impression that there was no fu- countries with high population outflows. This ture in the home country. As a result, the public could be pursued by increasing the wages of discussion about the topic in the region had to state employees to prevent emigration and by change. But he criticised the idea of Vračić to encouraging entrepreneurship for returnees fill up the gaps left by the emigrants with immi- with financial incentives. Subsequent success gration from third-countries because in con- stories could serve as new best practices shap- trast to Western Europe, there was not enough ing a more optimistic perspective on the issue. migration to the Western Balkans to replace leaving doctors, nurses or other important pro- Jelena Predojević-Despić added that migration fessionals, Beharić said. flows were not restricted to highly educated in- dividuals but also included low-skilled tempo- Still, the circumstances in the home countries rary or seasonal workers who did not have suf- desperately had to be improved, especially con- ficient language skills to successfully integrate sidering that in a study with scholarship hold- into the destination countries. Hence, it was im- ers from the Western Balkans currently studying portant to increase the co-operation between in the EU, Beharić discovered that those willing countries of origin and destination to reach to remigrate were the vast majority of respond- agreements on healthcare by way of example ents. Surprisingly only a minority did not con- which could incentivise remigration. For the sider going back to their countries of origin. most part, low-skilled temporary or seasonal Most respondents expressed the intention to workers were not included in migration statis- remigrate but currently did not see any oppor- tics and therefore a systematic monitoring of tunity to find an occupation matching their these migration flows would be necessary. skills. Questions and comments from the audi- ence raised the issue of the lack of best prac- Alida Vračić stressed that it was the responsibil- tice examples necessary to show opportunities ity of the governments of the Western Balkan in the home country – remigration strategies countries to create the circumstances needed to should therefore include more peer-to-peer ed- prevent emigration. So far, Vračić criticised, no ucation. single comprehensive long-term strategy to pre- 24 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report vent emigration had been issued by any Western ling the challenges jointly in formats of regional Balkan government. The region needed a role cooperation among the WB6, and the role the model; it was necessary that one Western Bal- EU could play in this. The panellists discussed kan country would start a comprehensive strate- existing trends of diaspora engagement and re- gy to incentivise remigration for the other coun- gional cooperation, pointing to successful exist- tries to follow. Since there were no significant ing initiatives as well as the room for improve- changes in elite structures of the Western Bal- ment. kan governments, Vračić would not expect any significant changes concerning policy approach- Michael Martens opened the panel with a dis- es and emigration trends in the near future. cussion on diverging diaspora voting patterns in different countries and the possible influence At the end of the discussion, Samir Beharic that diaspora votes can have on local political raised the issue of remittances and stated that developments. Nermin Oruč argued that the they were not as big as one would expect, espe- political involvement of diaspora communities cially since an increasing number of relatives improved the co-operation between diaspora follow the emigrants and move to their coun- societies and home countries. Oruč regarded tries of destination. Hence, he once more em- the role of the diaspora in the process of phasised the need to prevent emigration and democratisation and political developments in recommended to incentivise brain circulation the region as beneficial and referred to studies within the region. The emigration of academics that would prove that. Oruč explained cases should be resolved through the liberalisation of where diaspora voting patterns were less pro- visa restrictions within the Western Balkans and gressive than domestic ones with the visibility the establishment of an intra-regional student and presence of certain parties in the diaspora mobility programme similar to that of the Eras- communities. But due to the ever younger and mus programme in order to prevent brain drain. better educated emigrants the composition and political views of diaspora communities were Panel VI: The Role of the Diaspora and changing. The reluctance of some local govern- Regional Relations ments to include diasporas in political develop- The last panel of the conference was presented ments resulted from the perception of the dias- by Michael Martens, Southeast Europe Corre- pora community as a threat due to presumed spondent, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Vien- political views. na. Panellists were Nermin Oruč, Director, Cen- tre for Development Evaluation and Social Sci- In his second question, Michael Martens asked ence Research (CREDI), Sarajevo, Lumnije Jusufi, Silvana Mojsovska for arguments in favour of Researcher, Department of Slavic and Hungari- an increase in the mobility of professionals an Studies, Humboldt-University Berlin, Silvana through a mutual recognition of university and Mojsovska, Professor in International Econom- practical degrees in order to augment intra-re- ics, University “Ss.Cyril and Methodius”, Skopje, gional mobility. Why would people from one Adem Gashi, Team Leader, WB Youth Lab Project, country with high emigration rates move to an- Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Sarajevo other country in the same situation? Would this and Nikola Kandić, Lawyer and Project Assis- really make a difference? Silvana Mojsovska ex- tant, Youth Council of the Federation of Bosnia plained that circular migration made it easier and Herzegovina, Sarajevo. for individuals to come back to their countries of origin. Recognition of professional qualifica- While governments in the Western Balkans can tions was a big challenge that still was not ad- improve the situation using innovative policies, dressed. It was easier to work in Germany than other institutions and the society can also in another Western Balkan country, Mojsovska make a change. The final panel therefore posed stated. Mutual recognition of professional qual- the question of the potential of the diasporas’ ifications advocated within the Central Europe- engagement with their respective countries of an Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) was part of origin, how governments of the region could the regional co-operation effort and was support this engagement, the chances of tack- strongly encouraged by the EU. Increased re- Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 25 gional mobility could help professionals remain courses, referring to how things had been done in the region but still, EU integration would be in Germany in the past: migrant language far more appealing to people than integration courses were formerly provided for children of at the regional level. “gastarbeiters” with the intention of preparing them for their return to their home countries. Therefore, Mojsovska said, one should raise the But later they were stopped because the Ger- question of how to relate regional integration man state no longer wanted them to go back to the process of EU integration. In order to be and these courses would not have helped inte- employed at universities in the region one had grating the migrant communities in Germany. If to go through a lengthy bureaucratic procedure, Germany payed for language courses it would which was one reason why academics preferred have to be in other contexts, for example, not to leave for the EU, where it was easier for them as a mother tongue but as foreign language to have their diplomas recognised. Another courses. problem concerning emigration was the difficul- Michael Martens wondered if emigrants’ return ty of knowing how many people had actually after a long time living abroad with the inten- left the Western Balkans. Governments were re- tion to be politically active would be welcomed lying on statistics from destination countries, by local communities. Lumnije Jusufi explained which were not bullet-proof themselves. Short- that oftentimes, when emigrants tried to dis- age of reliable data was a major issue. As a first cuss politics, people claimed they had no idea step to remedy this, population censuses and of how politics and life actually worked on a lo- statistical analyses of the number of people re- cal basis. Political opinion of the diaspora dif- maining in a country could help. fered a lot from the local one. According to Jusufi, there was a big potential to influence the Asking Lumnije Jusufi about the relationship diaspora communities through media presence between the diaspora and local communities, and personal visits. The visibility would make a Martens wanted to know about the struggles of big difference in voting patterns of diaspora well-educated descendants of migrants willing communities. Turkish president Recep Tayyip to come back, especially in the field of academ- Erdoğan had a lot of voting presentations in ics. Lumnije Jusufi elaborated that the first Germany which had a huge impact on Turkish struggle was the long and difficult process of diaspora voting patterns. A comment from the diploma recognition. Additionally, job offerings audience added that the openness to emi- often were linked to the requirement of citizen- grants’ political participation strongly depended ship or residence in the countries. Contact to on the political parties. Some, mostly tradition- academic institutions was often difficult for di- al or nationalistic parties were not very prone aspora members with Albanian or Slavic-sound- to returnees’ participation, but other parties ing names and students would even be exclud- were very open to diaspora and returnee partic- ed from Erasmus programmes from studying ipation. the Albanian language in Prishtina because of their Albanian-sounding names. One’s passport Asking for the reasons of young people leaving or language skills were irrelevant because stu- their country, Michael Martens enquired from dents with Albanian names would not be wel- Nikola Kandić if there were any changes in the come to study Albanian language courses in motivation since it was not only the “gastarbe- Prishtina. Stereotypes of returnees were espe- iters” who were leaving these days. Nikola cially present in Kosovo where some returnees Kandić elaborated that unemployment was still had big difficulties integrating into the local the main reason behind the emigration of communities again. These were now trying to young people. But other reasons, such as a lack come back to Germany because everyday life of trust in the local system resulting from ram- was too difficult having a foreign accent. pant corruption in state administration, the business sector, the healthcare system and the Jusufi dismissed a question from the audience academia was becoming more and more impor- on whether it would make sense for EU govern- tant. Therefore, reforms considering in particu- ments to support young migrants with language lar the investment environment were desper- 26 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report ately needed in the home countries. Societies Balkans and would be a big opportunity for re- like that of Bosnia and Herzegovina were strug- gional initiatives that were foreseen. gling with corruption as the biggest and most pressing issue. Considering the current global COVID-19 pan- demic, Michael Martens asked Nikola Kandić if Considering economic development, Nermin he had any direct experience of health care sys- Oruč added, that Foreign Direct Investment tem shortages in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (FDI) attraction strategies should target diaspo- Kandić explained the public perception of the ra communities. Diaspora investors had the healthcare system was worse than the health- same concerns over the business climate of the care system itself. The narrative was that the countries as other investors, but unlike other good doctors were in Germany and that the investors, diaspora investors were willing to ones remaining in the region were either not take higher risks or accept a lower return on in- good enough to go there or might even have vestments because they would want to contrib- fake diplomas. The thinking in the Western Bal- ute to their local communities. Furthermore, di- kans was that the quality of work of people who aspora investors were positively influencing the remained in the region, either in healthcare, the investment climate in communities with no tra- economy or academia had to be worse than the dition of investment attraction strategies. work of professionals who were working abroad. Knowledge of actual success stories in Silvana Mojsovska discussed instruments to the region was not big enough – this would make investments from diaspora communities need to change. more attractive and emphasised that it was necessary to follow through on the plans of the Being asked to give an example of something Regional Economic Area (REA) with an economic that could change narratives in the region, Ner- agenda to strengthen regional cooperation. The min Oruč presented his idea of a Western Bal- plans formulated under the umbrella of the EU kans University that would be financed with EU were, according to Mojsovska, nothing more funds and that would attract the Western Bal- than political pledges and intentionally not kan diaspora to get involved in the region and pursued because Western Balkan countries simultaneously incentivise regional migration. were all strongly dependent on FDI and would see each other as rivals competing for it. There- Spotlights on Conference Take-Aways fore, actual skills and qualifications of local res- The panel was moderated by Valeska Esch, idents needed to be addressed. The IT industry Deputy Executive Director, Program Director Eu- had been benefitting from increasingly more rope, Aspen Institute Germany, Berlin. The pan- FDIs in recent years thanks to more qualified ellists were Đuro Blanuša, Secretary General of locals. Concerning production companies, Mo- the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), jsovska explained that they had free access to Tirana, Nora Hasani, Managing Director, Ger- the EU market and hence only few incentives to man-Kosovar Business Association (KDWV), work towards regional integration. Prishtina, Dafina Peci, Secretary General of the National Youth Congress, Crossborder Factory Adem Gashi strongly disagreed with Mojsovs- Tirana Office, Tirana, Frank Morawietz, Managing ka’s assessment of the REA and stated that ex- Director Crossborder Factory / Special Envoy for tensive consultations were under way and big Southeast Europe, Franco-German Youth Office commitments to deliver concrete results on the (FGYO), Berlin and Tim Judah, Balkan Corre- REA would be made. The plans were ambitious spondent, The Economist, London. and work to realise more regional economic in- tegration was planned for the near future. Con- Before the end of the conference on 30 October cerning digitalisation and roaming tariffs there 2020, moderator Valeska Esch asked the panel- had already been successful developments in lists and participants for their key take-aways recent years. Gashi asked to mind the Economic of the International Conference “Young People, and Investment Plan of the EU which contained Migration and the Demographic Challenge in a nine billon Euro injection into the Western the Western Balkans.” The panellists unani- Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report 27 mously regarded the conference as a big suc- dividing them. Therefore, a regional approach cess, especially considering the importance of was the only way to find solutions. the issue at hand. According to the panellists, migration, demographic change, and brain drain Dafina Peci concluded that despite good eco- were delicate topics in the Western Balkans. nomic recovery, the situation on the labour The focus on young people’s emigration from market remained challenging with a slow pace the region as a central theme was necessary of job creation and unemployment remaining and especially complimented by the panellists. high particularly among young people, women and marginalised groups. Additionally, the Đuro Blanuša praised the opportunity for young youth in the region needed to be better people to study and work abroad as a major equipped with a wide range of skills. Future de- advantage and luxury they should take advan- velopments on the labour market would have tage of. At the same time, young people should to be anticipated in order to prepare the youth bear in mind the implications such an opportu- for the requirements of tomorrow. The willing- nity had on their countries of origin and there- ness and motivation of young people in the fore try to engage in the development of their Western Balkans to participate meaningfully in home countries. The demographic challenge decision-making processes and policymaking the Western Balkans were facing were serious needed to be recognised, supported and facili- and governments should start addressing that tated by the governments in the region. problem with reforms, civic education and envi- ronmentally friendly policies in order to create Frank Morawietz complimented the clear deci- better living conditions for citizens. The Europe- sion to invite young citizens from the Western an integration of the Western Balkans was inev- Balkans to such a high-level conference and to itable, and the conference had shown that give them and their needs such a large space. young people from the region saw themselves Morawietz expressed that it was a big honour to as Europeans and were thinking in a European work with such motivated and highly skilled way. young professionals. Simply talking to young people would not be enough, therefore Morawi- Nora Hasani appreciated that the otherwise un- etz appealed directly to the politicians of the derappreciated youth from the region was the region to take action. central topic of this conference. During the past three days the conference was one of the rare Tim Judah brought to mind that such a confer- platforms where business representatives, aca- ence would have been unimaginable only a few demic experts as well as politicians from the years ago. The fact that the German Foreign Of- Western Balkans countries were not only able fice, together with its partners, organised this to hear what the youth had to say, but actually conference showed that thinking had begun to had an opportunity to really listen to and un- change. While this was a big step, it immediate- derstand their motives and reasons for leaving ly had become clear that this could only be or staying in their countries of origin. It should seen the start of addressing the issues under be a top priority and in the interest of the EU discussion. Emigration, low fertility, and the lack and the Western Balkan countries to work on of immigration into the Balkans were all playing creating better opportunities for young people together and therefore would need to be tack- to work and live in their countries of origin. In- led together. The Western Balkans were a very vesting in the youth would be a strategic win. dramatic example of demographic problems What the Balkans needed were governments emerging all over Eastern Europe and many with a vivid vision for the future and politicians other parts of the world. The involvement of who were willing to walk the talk. Creating a Western Balkan countries in coming conferenc- better future for the Western Balkans should be es on the future of Europe was a good message a joint effort. The conference had revealed that and giving hope. Judah thanked the organisers the young people in the region had more in for this important initiative regarding the global common than one would have expected and problem of demographic change. that there were more values connecting than 28 Südosteuropa Mitteilungen | 01 | 2021 | Supplement Conference Report

Concluding Remarks by Ambassador Susanne up, that there is a need for more efforts regard- Schütz, German Foreign Office ing reforms in the mentioned fields if opportu- The Closing Speech of the Conference was de- nities in the region were to be improved. Many livered by Ambassador Susanne Schütz, Director young people and panellists had made very for South-Eastern Europe, Turkey, EFTA States, frank remarks that they felt a lack of sufficient OSCE and Council of Europe in the German Fed- progress. Therefore, the speed of reform within eral Foreign Office on 30 October 2020. She the countries in the region would need to in- thanked Aspen Institute Germany and the crease in order to really make a difference. Southeast Europe Association for their relent- less effort to organise such a successful confer- Young people should be listened to and the ence. Schütz also expressed her thanks to the mobility across the region as well as education attendants, politicians, officials, experts, jour- opportunities should be improved, Schütz un- nalists and young participants from the region. derlined. The concept of circular migration was In spite of the challenging situation caused by something that would need to be explored fur- the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference never- ther. Those who returned to the region were theless had enjoyed a very high attendance very valuable for their country’s economy and throughout its entire duration. society. At the political level, the Sofia Summit of the Berlin Process on 10 November 2020 Citing German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, would be the next milestone where, Schütz Schütz once again reiterated his confirmation hoped, governments would reach tangible re- from the German government that the Western sults, especially concerning regional economic Balkans belonged to Europe. At the same time, integration. At the same time, Schütz welcomed Maas had made clear the necessity of reforms that negotiations were continuing in an EU-led in the fields of rule of law and the fight against dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo. corruption. Schütz outlined that the conference put young people at the centre of the debate The conference had shown that it was high time and gave them the opportunity to express their for the countries of the Balkans to overcome perspectives, definition of the current problems the shadows of the past in order to thrive and and suggestions to solve these. The ministers prosper and offer real opportunities to their cit- from the region had shown great openness to izens. Citing the conference participant Genove- discuss with the young people and to take their va Ruiz Calavera from the European Commis- views at heart. All six ministers had promised to sion that “migration should be a choice and not address deficits at the level of corruption, the an obligation,” Ambassador Schütz ended her rule of law and red tape. “Europe, and above all concluding remarks with the hope that fol- the people from the region would take them up low-up events with a physical presence would on it,” Schütz reminded them. It had become be possible in the not-too-distant future. very clear during the conference, she summed