‘Contemporary challenges for international community and perspectives of NATO enlargement to the Western Balkan’ is the international conference organized by the Atlantic Council of Croatia and Hanns Seidel Stiftung Office in Zagreb, on the day when Montenegro received an invitation from NATO to start accession talks to become a member of the Alliance. Conference had two panel discussions dedicated to the challenges on the security scene and NATO enlargement.
President of the Atlantic Council of Croatia Prof. Radovan Vukadinovic opened the conference with the presentation on NATO-Russian relations, saying that the Western Balkan is very important geopolitical region on which Russia can have its influence today. ‘Relations between NATO and Russia have deteriorated, but are under control’, Professor stated. The conference tackled migrant crisis and its influence to NATO enlargement on the Western Balkan countries, and Prof.Lidija Cehulic Vukadinovic stressed that the crisis becomes not only humanitarian, but also economic problem, which could easily become security problem as well. Under the topic Global challenges and division of power in today’s world Mladen Nakic PhD shared the view on four centers of power in multipolar world: USA, Russia, China, EU, adding that the power and force continued to be permanent in the international relations.
Under the panel discussion dedicated to NATO enlargement to the Western Balkan, four guests from Western Balkan countries – Prof. Marina Mitrevska from Macedonia, Olivera Injac from Montenegro, Prof. Milos Solaja from Republika Srpska, BH and an expert from Stiftung Wisenschaft und Politik Dusan Reljic PhD discussed on how countries in the region balance their relations with NATO and, mostly, Russia.
The Atlantic Council of Croatia had its end-of-year meeting after the conference on which the President of ACC and the Board introduced the members on activities that were organized in the year 2015, sharing the views on planned activities for the year to come – 2016 and how members can contribute to achieving better results.
