Strategic Alignment with European Commission Policies
Led by Prof. Maximilian Eibl, PhD, Vice-Rector for International Relations at the Technical University of Chemnitz, the delegation included Assoc. Prof. Kristina Pantelic Babic, PhD, Vice-Rector for International Relations at the University of Banja Luka, and Assoc. Prof. Sorin Cazacu, PhD, Vice-Dean for International Relations at the University of Craiova.
Expanding Membership and Impact
During the meeting, the Across delegation engaged with key figures from the European Commission, including Fernando Fonseca and Simone Rave from Directorate-General European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiation (DG NEAR), as well as representatives from Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC).
The purpose of the meeting was to align the consortium’s cross-border strategy with the European Commission’s new policies, particularly focusing on the Western Balkans area.
Of notable significance, last November, the European Commission adopted a new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, aiming to advance some of the benefits of membership to the region prior to accession. Furthermore, the Commission recommended the opening of accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina upon meeting the required membership criteria.
These developments hold particular relevance for Across, as the University of Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina recently joined the consortium.
Towards a Unified Cross-Border Strategy
The current structure of the Across Consortium includes Chemnitz University of Technology (Germany) as the consortium coordinator, along with University of Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Bialystok University of Technology (Poland), University of Craiova (Romania), University of Girona (Spain), University of Nova Gorica (Slovenia), University of Perpignan (France), University of Ruse (Bulgaria), and University of Udine (Italy).
We would like to thank the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the European Union for hosting this event.
