Brussels, 25 February 2026

ReSPA Director contributed to the meeting of the Western Balkans Six (WB6) Prime Ministers’ Sherpas, hosted today in Brussels by the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Amer Kapetanović. The meeting brought together advisors and senior officials mandated by their governments, alongside EU institutions, regional organisations, and partners, to coordinate priorities related to the Common Regional Market and preparations for the upcoming Berlin Process cycle.

The meeting opened with introductory remarks by Amer Kapetanović (Secretary General of the RCC); Pranvera Kastrati (Director of the CEFTA Secretariat), Valentina Superti (Director for the Western Balkans at the European Commission’s DG ENEST), Tim Prange (Representative of the Cabinet of the German Chancellor), and Milica Perišić (Prime Minister’s Sherpa of Montenegro), representing Montenegro as the host of the 2026 Berlin Process Summit.

Director Handjiska-Trendafilova enriched the discussions by highlighting ReSPA’s contribution to strengthening PAR as a core enabler of regional cooperation and EU integration. She underlined ReSPA’s role in supporting the Berlin Process Ministerial Dialogue on Public Administration Reform, scheduled for April under the Montenegrin Chairmanship, as well as in delivering concrete, result-oriented initiatives for the region.

“ReSPA remains firmly committed to supporting the Berlin Process through practical and forward-looking public administration reform initiatives. Our contribution to the upcoming Ministerial Dialogue on PAR, under Montenegro’s Chairmanship, and the launch of the Regional Civil Servants Mobility Scheme reflect our shared ambition to translate political commitments into tangible cooperation, learning, and trust among administrations,” said Handjiska-Trendafilova. “The mobility scheme is a concrete deliverable that strengthens administrative capacity, regional ownership, and alignment with EU standards, making it a meaningful contribution to both the Berlin Process and the EU–Western Balkans Summit.”

Participants reviewed progress achieved during the current Berlin Process cycle and discussed a package of deliverables for the 2026 Summit. Discussions focused on advancing the Common Regional Market and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, and on ensuring that agreed commitments are implemented through stronger coordination, institutional capacity-building, and people-to-people cooperation.

The meeting also emphasized the importance of close coordination among regional organisations and alignment with EU priorities, including the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. In this context, ReSPA’s work on fostering professional networks, mobility, and peer learning among civil servants was highlighted as a practical contribution to strengthening governance and reform implementation across the region.

The Sherpas Meeting further served to align the calendar of regional activities leading up to the Berlin Process Summit, scheduled to take place in October 2026 in Montenegro, reinforcing a structured, inclusive, and delivery-oriented regional cooperation agenda.