ESI in Budva: strategic planning seminar on South-East European Integration

Budva old town. Photo: flickr/Andrew Pescod

ESI's Kristof Bender participated last weekend (8-10 October 2010) at a strategic planning seminar on "South-East European Integration - The Case of Montenegro" organised by the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Montenegrin town of Budva. Kristof spoke on a panel on "Chairing multilateral organisations - producing concrete actions". He also moderated a panel on "Regional Challenges" with Gerhard Almer, Head of Division for EU External Affairs of the German Federal Foreign Office, Nicolas Suran, Director for external relations of the EU, neighbourhood and enlargement at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Casper Veldkamp, Director for Southeast and Eastern Europe at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tom Navratil, responsible for Europe at the Policy Planning Stuff of the US Department of State.

The seminar was also attended by Samuel Zbogar, Slovenian Foreign Minister, Zsolt Nemeth and Milan Jezovica, State Secretaries at the Hungarian and Slovak Ministries of Foreign Affairs respectively, Michael Leigh, Director General for Enlargement at the European Commission, and high level Montenegrin officials including Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, Foreign Minister Milan Rocen, Defence Minister Boro Vucinic, and Minister for European Integration Gordana Djurovic.