Tirana – “As a region where geopolitical and strategic interests compete, Western Balkans faces security challenges daily, and the aggression against Ukraine didn’t make it any easier on us. According to Western Balkan citizens, their perception of security has been strongly affected by crime in general - organised crime in particular, as well as drugs and human trafficking, violence and vandalism (60%), misuse of firearms and arms trafficking (48%), possibility of an armed conflict or political instability in the WB region (47%),” said RCC’s Secretary General Majlinda Bregu in her address at the Berlin Process Ministerial Meeting of Ministries of Interior held in Tirana yesterday. 

“But these are not the only security factors that worry our citizens. Seven out of ten of them agree that fake news and fake narrative represent a problem for democracy and 74% agree that disinformation represents a security threat to their economies. There are excellent models in the EU that could be mirrored in the Western Balkans, but fighting security threats at the regional level is just as important. At the end of the day, the goals are simple: security and safety,” added Bregu.

The Ministerial Meeting gathered regional and EU ministers of interior ahead of the annual Berlin Process Summit that is to take place in Tirana next month, making it the first ever to be organised in the Western Balkans. 

More information on the Berlin Process
Full speech by the RCC Secretary General