RCC presents the third edition of public opinion survey on security issues SecuriMeter 

Rome - "Migration is becoming one of the biggest problems of today, because countries are emptying. Not just those that result in the inflow of migrants to our region, but also because of the emigration from our region further to the west. Hence, the term of security challenges is dramatically changing. Security challenge is not just conflict resolution or prevention but it is also climate change and catastrophes, espionage, and real problems of human lives. Like brain drain which is becoming not only human capital but also a security issue", said Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, at the opening of the eighth Regional Security Coordination Conference in Rome today.

The third edition of the RCC's public opinion survey SecuriMeter has been presented at the Conference, revealing what citizens of the region think about security issues. 

"Top concerns of Western Balkan citizens are corruption and organised crime. More than 60% of Western Balkan citizens rank organised crime as their top security concern, which goes hand in hand with corruption with 55% of region’s citizens believing the level of corruption has increased. When speaking about migration, 70% of our citizens agree our region should shelter migrants needing protection, but majority, 80%, believes EU should do more to share the burden. Regional cooperation in this area too is overwhelmingly supported, as 73% is of the opinion that deepening regional cooperation to control the borders among the Western Balkans as one region is a way to manage irregular migration," added Bregu.

SecuriMeter was conducted between 14 May and 2 June 2023 among 6,023 people of the region. Data revels that most of the potential emigrants from our region, 62% of them plan long-term stays abroad for years or permanently. Almost half of our citizens, 47% believe disinformation causes more harm in provoking hatred and divisive opinions. They think social media are those most likely to spread the fake news - 46%, followed closely by journalists with 44% and politicians with 38%. 

Entire SecuriMeter database is available here. 

"SecuriMeter shows many worrying trends, from migration to war fears, cybersecurity and disinformation. All of these challenges will need investing strong efforts to respond to them. We all live too close to each other not to treat security challenges as a common issue and address them as such, always strengthening our cooperation," concluded Bregu.

Besides RCC Secretary General the introductory remarks were delivered by Raffaele Grassi, Deputy Chief of the Police, Ministry of Interior of Italy, and Andrea Cascone, Director of the Adriatic and Balkans Unit - General Directorate for the European Union – Ministry of   Foreign A¬ffairs and International Cooperation of Italy. The two-day conference will focus on regional security challenges and threats in the Western Balkans, featuring seven security-related panels, and interactive sessions, working groups, and networking opportunities. It aims to foster in-depth discussions, promote collaboration among stakeholders, and contribute to the security and resilience of the Western Balkans. It is an annual event gathering all regional security practitioners, organisations, and networks dealing with security issues in South East Europe and the Western Balkans, in particular. 8th Security Coordination Conference has been organised by the RCC in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.