- January 31, 2025
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- January 31, 2025
On Friday, January 31, the final interministerial workshop of the strategic foresight process on the future of the Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans in 2035 took place – marking the successful conclusion of our project. In cooperation with the Bureau für Zeitgeschehen, the Aspen Institute Germany conducted this process on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The project aimed to provide key insights for future German policy in these regions through comprehensive analyses, studies, surveys, interviews, and workshops, addressing the following questions: What are possible future developments (scenarios) in the regions up until 2024? What are the uncertainties and blind spots in the regions until 2024? What developments in the regions are essential for German politics (especially development politics), and where is the greatest need for action? What opportunities for action result for German development politics? How can a viable for the future strategy for German development politics look like for the regions of South-East Europe, Eastern Europe, and the South Caucasus? The process provided valuable input for the BMZ’s strategic planning in Southeast Europe, Eastern Europe, and the South Caucasus. The countries specifically examined included Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, and Georgia. A key outcome of the project is the development of a regional strategy for the BMZ, which will serve as a crucial tool for shaping and guiding bilateral and regional cooperation. The following core themes were central to this strategy: Climate and Energy / Just Transition; Sustainable Economic Development, Training and Employment; Peace and Societal Cohesion; Digitalization; Feminist Development Politics. With the successful completion of this project, a lasting contribution to the future strategic direction of German development policy in these regions has been made.
