Western Balkans

Promoting European integration of the Balkans and strengthening democracy in the region.

Initiated in 2003, the process of rapprochement between the Western Balkan countries and the European Union is slowing down. Only Croatia and Slovenia have become EU member states and the policy of enlargement no longer finds consensus across the EU. Moreover, the region is suffering from a multitude of unresolved problems, among which are conflicts, the emergence of autocratic regimes, the retreat of democracy, corruption, a brain drain and poor economic development. For more than 10 years, the King Baudouin Foundation has worked, together with other European foundations, to strengthen democracy in the Western Balkans, foster their integration into the EU and assert their role in the face of the new challenges confronting Europe.