WestBalkanNet (WBN) Executive Director and Professor at the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature (FCJK), Boban Batrićević, paid an official working visit to the European Parliament in Brussels, where he held a series of meetings with Members of the European Parliament to present WBN’s mission and activities, as well as to exchange views on key political, democratic, and security challenges in the Western Balkans.
During the visit, Batrićević met with MEP Tomislav Sokol, with whom he discussed the importance of strengthening cooperation between European and regional institutions, particularly in the areas of education, culture, and civil society, as well as the threats posed to democratic processes by undemocratic and anti-European actors in the Western Balkans.
In separate meetings with MEPs Tonino Picula and Ondřej Kolář, the European Parliament’s rapporteurs for Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, special attention was given to the increasingly aggressive mechanisms of cultural-political and hybrid influence that challenge the democratic development of the region, as well as the preservation of the identity and cultural heritage of Montenegro and other Western Balkan countries.
During the meetings, the WBN Executive Director presented the mission of WestBalkanNet as a platform for political, academic, and social cooperation, bringing together politicians, intellectuals, and public actors committed to European values, democracy, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights. It was emphasized that WBN aims to serve as a bridge between the Western Balkans and European Union institutions, fostering dialogue, knowledge exchange, and the strengthening of democratic resilience in the region.
The visit to Brussels was carried out at the invitation of MEP Davor Ivo Stier, who hosted this year’s European Prayer Breakfast, held in the European Parliament on December 3. The visit was also used for a series of informal discussions with representatives of European institutions and parliamentarians, aimed at further familiarizing them with the work and values of WestBalkanNet and exploring possibilities for future cooperation.
