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08.30 – 09.30 Registration
09.30 – 10.00 Welcome speeches
- Yiannis Lagonas, Co-founder and Chairman, Thessaloniki Regional Forum
- Konstantinos Foutzopoulos, Co-founder and Executive Director, Thessaloniki Regional Forum
- Theodoros Karaoglou, Deputy Minister of Interior, Macedonia & Thrace, Greece
- Mladen Ivanic, f. Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Haki Abazi, Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo
10.00 – 11.30 Session I. European Union: the post-2020 agenda
- Zlatko Lagumdzija, f. Prime Minister of Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Ditmir Bushati, Special Envoy of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, f. Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Albania
- Knut Fleckenstein, Advisor for Balkans to PES President
- Dusan Reljic, Head of the Brussels Office, SWP (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
- Ioannis Armakolas, Senior Research Fellow, ELIAMEP (Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy), Greece
- Jovan Ratkovic, Global Fellow, Agora Strategy Institute, Munich / Brussels
- Astrit Istrefi, Executive Director of the Balkan Forum, Kosovo
- Tania Lessenska, Programme Coordinator, Wider Europe Programme, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Sofia Office
Moderator: Elena Papadimitriou, Journalist SKAI media group
11.30 – 11.45 Coffee break
11.45 – 12.00 Keynote speech: European Integration of the Balkans, priorities of the Croatian EU Council Presidency
- Stribor Kikerec, Assistant Minister for Southeast Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Croatia
12.00 – 13.00 Session II. Western Balkans’ EU accession
- Odeta Barbullushi, Advisor to Albanian PM & National Coordinator for Regional Economic Area, f. Deputy Foreign Minister, Albania
- Zoran Popov, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, North Macedonia
- Evangelos Kalpadakis, Diplomatic Advisor of the Leader of the Main Opposition, Greece
- Aleksandar Andrija Pejović, f. Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator for Montenegro’s EU Accession
- Hermine Poppeller, Ambassador of Austria to Greece
- Christos Makridis, Deputy Head of Unit, Serbia Unit, Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission
- Sotiris Serbos, Associate Professor in International Politics, Democritus University of Thrace
Moderator: Marilena Koppa, Professor at Panteion University, Athens
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch break
14.00 – 14.15 Keynote speech: Euro-Atlantic partnership and the Balkans
- Michele Siders, Political Counselor, US Embassy in Athens
14.15 – 15.30 Session III. The Balkans as a field of wider Geopolitical Contest: old players & new stakes
- Ranko Krivokapić, f. President of the Parliament, Montenegro
- Mimi Kodheli, Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Albanian Parliament, f. Minister of Defense, Albania
- Burak Özügergin, Ambassador of Turkey to Greece
- Borko Stefanovic, Deputy President of the Party of Freedom and Justice, f. Chief Negotiator of Serbia in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Serbia
- Gordana Delic, Director, The Balkan Trust for Democracy, The German Marshall Fund of the US (GMF)
- Theresa Fallon, Director Centre for Russia, Europe, Asia Studies CREAS, Brussels
- Marko Savkovic, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence/Belgrade Security Forum Team
Moderator: Matteo Bonomi, Research Fellow, Istituto Affari Internationali (IAI), Rome
15.30 – 16.30 Session IV. Balkan Democracy: how deep is its consolidation?
- Ioanna Lachana, Head of Press Office / Spokesperson – EULEX Kosovo
- Theodoros Georgakopoulos, Editorial Director of diaNEOsis, Greece
- Remzi Lani, Executive Director of the Albanian Media Institute
- Jovana Marovic, Executive Director of the Politikon Network, Montenegro
- Ljubisa Vrencev, Programme Coordinator, Arbeiter Samariter Bund, Greece
Moderator: Despina Syrri, Head, Symbiosis-School of Political Studies in Greece, Council of Europe
16.30 – 17.30 Session V. The Need for a Future Narrative
- Yiannis Boutaris, f. Mayor of Thessaloniki
- Max Braedle, Director of FES (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung), Serbia
- Tatjana Lazarevic, Editor of KoSSev, Kosovo
- Anastasis Katsianis, Vice-President of the Strasbourg Club
- Leonidas Makris, Adjunct Professor, Department of Political Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- Vojislav Savic, Political Analyst, Pozitivna Srpska, Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Velma Šarić, Founder & President, Post-Conflict Research Center, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Moderator: Konstantinos Foutzopoulos, Co-founder and Executive Director, Thessaloniki Regional Forum
20.00 – 22.00 Dinner |
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09.00 – 09.30 Keynote speech
- Grigorios Dimitriadis, Secretary General for International Economic Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greece
09.30 – 10.40 Session VI. Energy cooperation in the region, sustainable development and the green transition
- Alexandra Sdoukou, Secretary General for Energy & Mineral Resources, Ministry of Environment & Energy, Greece
- Georgios Gkiaouris, Associate Director, Power and Energy Utilities, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
- Yossi Amrani, Ambassador of Israel to Greece
- Stelios Kympouropoulos, Member of the European Parliament
- Michalis Mathioulakis, Academic Director of the Greek Energy Forum
- Jasmina Trhulj, Head of the Electricity Unit, Energy Community Secretariat, Vienna
- Sonja Risteska, Project Manager, Southeast Europe, Agora Energiewende, Berlin
Moderator: John Papadimitriou, Journalist
10.40 – 10.45 Presentation: SDGs and Public-Private Partnerships as a tool for regional development
- Anastasia Psomiadi, Founder & President APSON CSR
10.45 – 12.00 Special session: Fostering investments and business sustainability: Interregional mobility and economic cooperation
Keynote speech: Strategic planning for regional development: challenges, limitations and opportunities
- Dimitrios Skalkos, Secretary General for Public Investments, Ministry of Development and Investments, Greece
- Niki Dandolou, Special Secretary for EU Structural Funds, Ministry of Development and Investments, Greece
- Dubravka Negre, Head of Representation, Western Balkans, European Investment Bank (EIB)
- Ervin Bushati, Chairperson of the Albanian Delegation, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
- Yannοs Mitsos, Senior Advisor, Business Issues, Public and Media Communication, Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV)
- Michalis Stangos, Founder of MSCOMM Group
- Vladimir Inkov, Head of the Commercial and Economic Section, Consulate General of Bulgaria to Thessaloniki
- Nikos Sp. Philippou, President and CEO Philippou SA
Moderator: Sofia Beretanou, Journalist ALPHA 989 and thecaller.gr
12.00 – 13.30 Session VII. Balkans 4.0: growing digital together
- Leonidas Christopoulos, Secretary General of Digital Governance and Simplification of Procedures, Ministry of Digital Governance, Greece
- Tatjana Matic, State Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Serbia
- Gregory Pfleger, US General Consul in Thessaloniki
- Giorgos Avarlis, Deputy Mayor for Administrative Reform and Digital Governance, Municipality of Thessaloniki
Moderator: Dimitris Apokis, Journalist, International News Coordinator in Hellenic Broadcast Corp. (ERT)
13.30 – 14.00 Closing remarks
Parallel events
11.00 – 12.00 Balkan Young Leaders, Steering Committee Roundtable |
