19 May 2026
The official opening of this year’s Forum was marked by focus on practical results and impact.
Mr. Ola Sohlström, Ambassador of Sweden to North Macedonia, expressed that the shared challenge participating countries face is stated in this year’s theme “From commitment to impact” and that is »taking our work from policy to impact.«
Mr. Christoph Sommer, Ambassador of Switzerland to North Macedonia, further reiterated that »cooperation is a necessity and initiatives, such as EUSAIR, are key to insure this cooperation extends beyond policy documents into the daily reality of people across the Region.«
Mr. Raffaelo Fitto, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms from the European Commission highlighted that »what we are doing examplifies our our highest European ideals, bringing together 10 different countries working for the common good.«
The morning continued with a ministerial and delegation panel on shaping the Region’s future through enlargement. “It’s the best way to secure and expand prosperity and stability, as well as a very concrete way of adding scale to the European project,” stated Mr. Hugo Sobral, Deputy Director-General at the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission.
The panel focused on strategic embedding of macro-regional cooperation, since it is an integral tool for delivering reforms and investments across borders in support of the EU accession process.
Mr. Bekim Sali, the Minister of European Affairs of North Macedonia, underlined that “cooperation creates stability, resilience and European convergence. EUSAIR is not only a regional initiative, it is a practical instrument for gradual European integration.”
The handover ceremony of the EUSAIR Presidency from North Macedonia to Italy was a sight to behold and marked the acceptance of the Skopje Declaration.
A joint meeting of EUSAIR and EUSDR National Coordinators kicked off the second section and was held to support enlargement and cooperation between EUSAIR and EUSDR.
SP4EUSAIR focused on action in their capacity building session and introduced the EUSAIR cooperation model whilst also addressing a crucial gap in implementation, which is the need for more structured systematic stakeholder engagement, communication, and outreach, to support high-quality actionable ideas across the macro-region.
Mr. Kelvin Strazimiri, SASPAC, Albania, stated “…stakeholder engagement should simplify the ideation process and not complicate it…//…we could also play a big part in helping to send the right people to the right process.”
The first Pillar Panel of this year’s forum was hosted by Pillar 2 on Energy. They dove into energy security in the light on emerging threats and geopolitical changes, and addressed energy security challenges, evaluated various energy options and programmes within the Region, as well as proposed new ways of contributing to enhanced energy cooperation and common goals.
Mr. Davide Tabarelli, president and cofounder of Nomisma Energia, concluded that in the light of European countries inadequately addressing the issue of energy dependency, the first step would be to “acknowledge the poor results of past policy« and therefore strategise a »humbler approach to define new energy policies.«
The last panel of this section was Pillar 1’s panel on local Blue assets as tools for sustainable development shone a light on the use of local resources contributing to sustainable community development. A significant population percentage in the Region’s coastal areas belongs to vulnerable social groups, often fisheries’ dependent, so the panel discussed how rich biodiverse resources could improve regional development and support locals not only remaining but also thriving in their home.
Starting the last section of DAY 2 with an interactive capacity building workshop, newcomers were introduced to key EUSAIR elements and offered a platform for knowledge and experience exchange, thus facilitating faster integration and clear understanding.
POPRI executed a talent panel on social entrepreneurship and brought together young people, entrepreneurs, and an EUSAIR Pillar 5 member to explore “ideas to impact” through real-life examples, past challenges and future opportunities. “Don’t wait for the perfect time, the perfect time is only now.” – Ms. Elizabeta Jovanovska, CEO and Founder Brand Solution, North Macedonia.
Finally, Pillar 2 on Transport graced us with panel on sustainable urban mobility policies joining representatives from BiH, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Albania in presenting best practices, discussing key barriers to the implementation of innovative mobility solutions, and promoting cross-border cooperation through joint pilot projects. They brought the focus to the importance of investing in public transport infrastructure and properly supporting the management costs.
“Sustainable mobility becomes real when strategic planning, investment and citizen-oriented street design move together,” concluded Mr. Lovren Markić from the Department for International Cooperation, North-Macedonia.
