Berlin Process 2026: Why the Western Balkans Matter

Diplomatic speeches often arrive wrapped in formal language. Strip that away and Nerys Jones, the UK's Ambassador to Montenegro, made a straightforward argument at the 2026 Berlin Process Foreign Ministers' Meeting: what happens in the Western Balkans does not stay there. Security, prosperity and political stability in the region shape Europe as a whole. If you are new to this, that is the first thing to hold on to. The speech was not only about ministers meeting in a room. It was about whether people across the region can live with more safety, better jobs, stronger public trust and a clearer sense that their future is tied to Europe rather than to division and drift.

The Berlin Process is a long-running effort that brings together Western Balkan governments and European partners to push practical cooperation forward. It exists because becoming more closely linked to Europe is not only about speeches and symbols. It is also about transport, energy, trade, policing, reconciliation and the patient work of making neighbours act more like partners. **What this means:** when officials talk about regional cooperation, they are really asking whether crossing a border can become easier, whether businesses can trade more freely, whether energy can move more reliably and whether political disputes stop blocking everyday progress.

Jones put security first, and that choice matters. Europe is dealing with war, cyber-attacks, disinformation and outside interference, and the Western Balkans are not sealed off from any of that. The UK's message was that the region needs firmer links with Euro-Atlantic partners because resilient democracies, respect for international institutions and resistance to division help stop local tensions becoming wider crises. That is also why she returned to last year's Hillsborough Castle Declaration on Good Neighbourly Relations, agreed when the UK chaired the Berlin Process in Northern Ireland. Those commitments were about trust, respect, peaceful settlement of disputes and not allowing bilateral rows to hold the whole region back.

There was another important thread running through the speech: memory and accountability. Jones said victims of war crimes deserve respect, compassion and accountability, which is a reminder that peace is not only the absence of open conflict. It also depends on whether societies are willing to face painful truths honestly. The UK is continuing a Northern Ireland initiative from last year's Berlin Process to share experience on inter-community reconciliation. That does not mean one region can simply copy another. It means divided societies can still learn from each other about how trust is rebuilt, slowly, when politics has been damaged by violence and suspicion.

The speech then moved from principles to the practical threats people feel in daily life. Cyber-attacks can shut down services. Disinformation can distort public debate. Organised crime and irregular migration cross borders quickly. Foreign interference looks for weak points. Jones argued that none of these problems can be handled well by one country acting alone. This is where the Berlin Process becomes less abstract. The UK is backing the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre in Montenegro and working with regional partners to counter foreign information manipulation and interference. It also places strong importance on cooperation over migration and organised crime, including through the Berlin Process Border Police Chiefs' Forum.

For readers, that may sound technical, so it helps to translate it. Better cyber-defence can protect hospitals, schools, elections and public records. Better police cooperation can make trafficking and smuggling networks harder to run. Better action against coordinated falsehoods can make political debate less vulnerable to manipulation. **What it means for everyday life:** if this work is done well, people should feel it in quieter ways. Public services are more reliable. Borders are safer. Criminal groups have less room to operate. The news environment becomes harder to poison.

Jones's second big theme was convergence, which can sound cold until we bring it into ordinary language. Here, it means helping the region work more smoothly with the rest of Europe through stronger growth, more investment, better infrastructure and fewer barriers to trade. She said the Berlin Process should be judged by what actually changes for citizens, not by the number of polished statements issued after a meeting. That matters because economic frustration is never just an abstract policy problem. If roads are weak, energy links are patchy or markets are fragmented, businesses grow more slowly and young people look elsewhere for stability. The UK said its export credit agency has increased its risk appetite for the region, creating more room to support projects and multinational partnerships.

She also argued that when competitiveness is under pressure, European countries should choose cooperation over protectionism. In plain English, that means breaking down barriers to trade and investment with the EU and with each other instead of retreating into defensive politics. The speech welcomed UK and EU work to connect energy markets and pointed to British support in sharing experience on Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms. That last phrase is specialist, but the issue is familiar: as Europe changes the way it prices carbon, countries that want closer economic ties need to understand the rules and prepare their industries. So when officials speak about market integration and carbon policy, they are often talking about bills, factories, exports and whether communities can stay economically secure during the green transition.

The third theme was the clearest and, for many readers, the most important. Young people need more than warm promises. If the Berlin Process is going to matter, it has to help create jobs, widen opportunity and show that staying in the region can lead to a stable, dignified future as part of Europe. Jones said young people should be able to see that future for themselves, not simply be told about it. She also made gender equality impossible to treat as a side issue. Violence and inequality against women do lasting harm to individuals and societies, and they shut people out of work, politics and civic life. The speech welcomed stronger cooperation between Western Balkan institutions on these questions and urged full implementation of European conventions and directives aimed at tackling violence against women and girls. By the end, Jones offered a simple test: does this work make the region more secure, more connected, more prosperous and more resilient, and does it give the next generation greater confidence that their future lies there, as part of Europe? That is the real measure of the Berlin Process. The UK's closing promise was that it will remain an active partner. The harder task now is turning diplomatic agreement into changes people can actually feel.