The Green Agenda for the Western Balkans : How Swiss International Cooperation can support

About this Learning Journey

At the Sofia Summit 2020, the Western Balkans reached a key milestone by endorsing the Leaders’ Declaration on the Green Agenda that aligns with the EU Green Deal for a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy. The Green Agenda for the Western Balkans (GAWB) and its Action Plan 2021-2030 set out to: i) clean the energy sources and protect the climate (decarbonization); ii) move to circular economy; iii) depollute air, water, and soil; iv) build sustainable agriculture and food systems; and v) protect and restore ecosystems (biodiversity). The EU supports financially the implementation of the GAWB through its Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA3).

Seen its universality and topicality, the GAWB provides an essential framework for the Cooperation Programmes in the WB countries supported by Switzerland: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Serbia. In the run-up to operationalising the provisions of the International Cooperation Strategy 2025-28, the W&E portfolio managers anticipate a largely untapped potential in aligning and synergising with the thrusts of the GAWB: doing so relevantly requires a deeper grasp of its ins and outs, however. This calls for structuring the deliberations of the envisaged learning journey (LJ) as per the five GAWB priority areas. Further, the LJ is expected to unfold in complementary to a regional event of the Economy and Education (E&E) Team going to tackle Green Agenda aspects too.

In fact, adopting an approach, which emphasises efficient resource use, ecosystem resilience, and social equity, is increasingly vital for safeguarding health, prosperity, and environmental sustainability, particularly in regions wrestling with resource scarcity and inequality issues. Effectively managing the water, energy, food, and ecosystems (WEFE) nexus can alleviate resource scarcity problems, augment essential supplies, reduce waste, and make us well-equipped to handle climate change impacts.