On Friday, June 9, the seventh edition of the "Security Challenges in the Balkans" international conference took place in Timișoara, a unique event in the western region of Romania, held annually.
The conference, organized within the framework of the existing partnership between the Western University of Timișoara and the New Strategy Center and under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has become an annual reference event that brings to the fore the old and new security challenges in the Balkans. Through this event, the organizing partners undertook to contribute to the significant increase in the academic significance of the municipality on the Bega at the regional level and, at the same time, to emphasize Romania's concern for a consolidated approach in the orientation towards the stability of the Balkan region.
As announced, the event brought together Romanian and foreign officials, as well as representatives from the academic and non-governmental sectors, both from Romania and abroad, especially from the Balkans. During the conference debates, topics crossed several strategic interests, from conventional and hybrid threats to resilience, from regional economic perspectives, the role of foreign actors in the region, to the impact of the war in Ukraine and the post-pandemic context.
The seventh edition of the international conference "Security Challenges in the Balkans" was opened by Mr. Marilen Gabriel Pirtea, Rector of the Western University of Timișoara, Mr. Ionel Nițu, President of the New Strategy Center, Mr. Iulian Fota, Secretary of State, Ministry Foreign Affairs, Romania, Mr. Dominic Fritz, Mayor of Timișoara, and Mr. Alin Cristian Moș, Vice-President of the Timiș County Council.
The rector of UVT, prof. univ. dr. Marilen Gabriel Pirtea, emphasized: "I believe it is the duty of universities to take emerging issues such as security and open them up to public understanding. The entire security and geostrategic context in which we live has changed and become more volatile than ever, so this conference reveals its special importance, in an increasingly distinct way, giving us the chance to make our contribution for a better understanding of the past, present and future. Romania is at the crossroads between the West and the East, a Latin but Balkan country, a country that has gone through different regimes and which, I like to say, is the most eastern country in the West, while Timișoara is the most western city from the East."
The president of the New Strategy Center, Mr. Ionel Nițu, said during the event: "The geopolitical relevance of the Balkans takes on a new dimension when approached together with the Black Sea. In an uncertain international environment, characterized especially by hybrid threats, it becomes necessary to identify solutions for the European integration of the Balkans, and the entire map of the area can be seen from a different perspective from Timișoara, the city that annually hosts the international conference "Security Challenges in the Balkans" carried out in partnership by the New Strategy Center and the West University of Timișoara."
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Ideas under discussion and conclusions from the panel work:
Panel I. Euro-Atlantic Integration at a Turning Point: EU & NATO, Complementarity in the Balkans – panel chaired by Ambassador (Ret.) Gheorghe Magheru, member of the Scientific Council of the New Strategy Center, Romania. The speakers were: Mr. Iulian Fota, Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romania, Mr. Leonard Orban, member of the Scientific Council of the New Strategy Center, former European Commissioner and former advisor for European affairs to the President of Romania, Mrs. Ardita Abazi Imeri, coordinator of Programs, European Policy Institute, North Macedonia, Mr. Mirko Mussetti, Geopolitical Analyst, Limes, Italy and Mr. Jochen M. Richter, Lecturer, University of Düsseldorf, European Affairs Expert, Luxembourg.
The European integration of the Balkans is essential for regional stability. In addition, reducing the current tensions between Kosovo and Serbia is important for regional security and also for Romania's security, especially since the country would face instability on two fronts (South and East). The EU-facilitated dialogue should be used as a tool by the two sides to address current tensions and avoid escalation.
Panel II. The Balkan Powder Keg & the Lessons Learned from the Russian New Generation Warfare in Ukraine – panel chaired by Col. AF (Ret.) Mihai Știr, Associate Expert, New Strategy Center, Romania. The panel had the following speakers: Ms. Simona Cojocaru, Secretary of State, Ministry of National Defense, Romania, Mr. Igor Bandović, Director, Belgrade Center for Security Policy, Serbia, MG (Ret.) Leonardo Dinu, Member of the Scientific Council of the New Strategy Center , Romania, Mr. Greg Melcher, Chief Operations Officer, Center for the Study of New Generation Warfare, USA and Mr. Mehmet Ugur Ekinci, Researcher, Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), Turkey.
Security dynamics are still fragile in this region, as demonstrated by recent escalations in northern Kosovo. Romania considers the Balkans to be an area of major importance for its security and contributes militarily to the region. As the European Union went through several crises since the 2000s, the Balkans began to fall off the agenda as a priority. As a result, especially since 2015, Russia and China have become increasingly active in the region. Although a full-scale conflict in the Balkans is highly unlikely at this point, the region faces enormous security risks related to issues such as the rule of law, hybrid threats or Russian propaganda. These are the real challenges for the Balkans. Meanwhile, a considerable challenge for the European Union is the unprecedented support of the Serbs for Russia, which must be wooed into membership in order to reverse this social and political trend.
Special Session. Hybrid Threats in the Balkans: from Narratives to Destabilization – a conference session moderated by Mrs. Ileana Rotaru, Associate Professor, West University of Timișoara, Senior Associate Expert, New Strategy Center, Romania. The two speakers in the session were Mrs. Roberta Răducu, communication expert, New Strategy Center, Romania and Mr. Srdjan Hercigonja, Senior Researcher, Belgrade Center for Security Policy (BCSP), Serbia. This marked the presentation of a New Strategy Center study, in collaboration with the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, entitled "Hybrid Threats in the Balkans: from Narratives to Destabilization".
Russia's power in the Balkans is often overestimated in some respects, as there is no Russian military presence in the region, economic ties are much weaker than those with the European Union, and the Balkan countries have a relatively diversified energy sector. However, as the study argues, the new era of warfare is that of information warfare. The paper focuses on information warfare and the narratives that Russia is pushing in Romania, Bulgaria as EU and NATO member states, and Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina as non-member states. Russia tries to find weak points in every society it targets. Russia has used several methods in instrumentalizing information warfare, such as framing, information echo chambers, gaslighting, and fake news. Russia understands that people tend to divert their attention from real wars and get emotionally involved in unnecessary, ideological wars within society, and exploits this reality to the fullest.
Panel III. Cyber Challenges and Societal Resilience. How Will We Protect the Front in our Homes? – panel moderated by Mr. Claudiu Brandaș, professor at the West University of Timișoara. The invited speakers in the panel were: Mrs. Maria-Manuela Catrina, deputy director of the National Directorate for Cyber Security, Mr. Tal Pavel, director and founder of the Institute for the Study of Cyber Policies in Israel, Mr. Octavian Stancu, director of the Cyber Security Services at Eviden GDC Romania and Mr. Alexandru Mărgineanu, leader of the MS Security Practice within Nokia.
Today we are no longer just citizens, but cyber-citizens, a fact that also bypasses the spatial borders between states and threats. Thus, the devices we use make us vulnerable to hybrid warfare, so we need cyber and societal resilience approaches to manage this threat. The Balkans have been the epicenter of conflicts throughout history, even on a cyber level, and these manifest themselves in the form of state-sponsored malicious operations or cybercrime, relevant examples being even the recent cyber attacks in Albania or Montenegro. Therefore, beyond civil society education and a solid legal framework, institutions like DNSC collaborate and conduct cyber exercises with partners in the Balkans and beyond to increase cyber resilience.
Panel IV. Economic Resilience in the Balkans. Diversifying Resources and Opportunities – a panel moderated by Mr. Claudiu Boțoc, vice dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration from UVT. The invited speakers in the panel were: Mrs. Ana Dumitrache, Country Head CTP (Romania), Mrs. Ileana Gabor, North-American Economic Club, CFO Eastern Europe building technology Honeywell (Romania), Mr. Alexandru Maximescu, vice president of OMV Petrom, (Romania, via VTC), Mr. General (ret.) Florian Coldea, associate professor at the West University of Timișoara and Mrs. Nina Vujanović, expert in economics at the Vienna Institute for Economic International Studies in Montenegro.
The favorable context for the development of regional cooperation, focused on international partnerships and bilateral exchanges, with an emphasis on classic routes but also on emerging routes between the Balkan economic zones, was emphasized.
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More details from the dialogues held during the conference can be found at NSC web address.
The conference was broadcast live and can be followed by accessing the website of the Western University of Timișoara (https://www.uvt.ro/ro/) and of the New Strategy Center (www.newstrategycenter.ro).
The photo gallery with images taken during the conference can be found HERE.
