Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very glad to join you today.

Southeastern Europe holds a special significance for me. I truly value the collaboration among 34 universities from 9 nations, including both candidate countries and EU Member States, working together in research, innovation, and education.

You are at the heart of many success stories.

In the first four years of Horizon Europe, nearly 500 projects involving participants from the Western Balkans secured 168 million euros in funding.

This nearly doubled the outcomes from the previous programme!

The Erasmus+ programme, led by my colleague Roxana Mînzatu, has been crucial in aligning education standards with EU norms.

Erasmus+ has enhanced the quality and inclusiveness of education systems and facilitated integration into the European Education Area.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are simultaneously supporting the career development, training, and mobility of researchers in the Western Balkans.

Furthermore, the European Universities initiative has shown great promise in the region – it plays a vital role in attracting global talent to Europe, with academic freedom at its core.

These accomplishments highlight the success of the Western Balkans in Horizon Europe, driven by the dedication of universities and regional networks like yours.

However, ladies and gentlemen, we can do more to integrate our research, innovation, and education systems.

Collectively, as the European Commission, EU Member States, and Western Balkan partners, we have collaborated under the Western Balkans Agenda on Innovation, Research, Education, Culture, Youth, and Sport.

I want to emphasize the key contributions of EU Member States: Romania and Hungarys Extreme Light Infrastructures, Bulgarias leadership in creating an advanced cancer therapy center, Slovenias library system widely used across Southeast Europe, and various bilateral initiatives enhancing university collaboration.

Together, we have enabled the European Institute of Innovation and Technology to establish innovation hubs throughout the region.

Building on this, the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans will fortify innovation ecosystems.

This will help boost R&I investment, which is often below 1% of GDP – below our EU target of 3%.

The new 2025 Horizon Europe work programme allocates 7.3 billion euros to enhance research and innovation.

This includes a European Excellence Initiative that will support university alliances, such as the EUTOPIA alliance.

I encourage you to seize the opportunities available, especially with the EUs enlargement on the horizon.

However, excellent research collaboration is only feasible when academic freedom flourishes.

Academic freedom is fundamental to the values of research and innovation: it is a key principle of the European Research Area.

Another crucial principle we advocate is student mobility for young people in the region.

Student mobility benefits the students, the universities involved, the European economy, and strengthens our connections – its impact is significant.

Thus far, two agreements have been established to support student mobility in the Western Balkans: one concerning the recognition of academic qualifications and another regarding study access.

However, I understand that these agreements have yet to be implemented.

As key stakeholders, I rely on you to pursue constructive solutions so that your students, universities, and societies can benefit from mobility.

Now, let’s look forward.

Ladies and gentlemen, the upcoming framework programme – FP10 – will be proposed as part of the package for the next Multiannual Financial Framework, which the Commission should adopt in July.

We are considering how FP10 and the next Multiannual Financial Framework can help achieve the 3% European target for research and innovation.

However, this cannot be accomplished solely with the EU budget.

The EU, Member States, and the private sector must collectively commit.

I welcome your Policy Brief on FP10, which highlights:

• the willingness of the Western Balkans to engage in the association process early;
• the necessity for clearly defined, stable financial arrangements;
• and advocacy for ambitious catch-up missions to align regional partners with European standards.

We will consider these points as we shape the association policy for the next framework programme.

In conclusion, let me reiterate that your organization exemplifies how education and research unite the Western Balkans and the EU.

Now is the time to build on these achievements.

I wish all participants fruitful discussions.