The EU enlargement is one of the priorities for the Visegrad Group. Also both Hungary and Poland will pay special attention to this issue throughout 2011 during their successive EU presidencies. One of the starting events in achieving this goal was the second ministerial meeting by the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group dedicated to the Western Balkans held on 22 October 2010. Moreover, it was preceded by the first ministerial meeting in Budapest on 6 October 2009. It was there when the ministers firmly stated that the future of Western Balkans countries lies within the European and Euro-Atlantic community, in line with the Thessaloniki Agenda and the Stabilization and Association Process, confirmed by the EU-Western Balkans High-Level Meeting in Sarajevo on 2 June 2010.

Today there are many obstacles for the enlargement process in the Western Balkans. Due to the economic crisis and “enlargement fatigue”, the majority of Western Balkan countries (with the exception of the Republic of Croatia) are not very optimistic about their eventual integration. Moreover, the region is facing continuous domestic obstacles on the way to the Euro-Atlantic integration: first, internal disagreements; second, reforms which must be accelerated and consolidated; third, democratic foundations in some of the countries remain fragile; fourth, political leaders bear a huge responsibility to overcome differences in order to steer their countries and the region towards better governance; fifth, frequent ethnic turmoil.

Bearing this in mind, the conference entitled “The Western Balkans in the Realm of the 2011 Hungarian EU Presidency: The Way Forward” will support the joint strategic goal that Hungary and the EU have for the European future of the Western Balkan region. The conference will contribute in the following ways: first, it will build on the positive developments in the region which took place in the last decade; second, give incentives/positive examples from the countries which have stepped up a gear and are now in the final phase of the entering process (e.g. Croatia); third, strengthen focus on conditionality which will ensure that the countries become properly prepared for the membership; fourth, make use and remind of the importance of the regional cooperation (collective will to move things forward).