International Commission on the Balkans
The Robert Bosch Stiftung founded the International Commission on the Balkans in spring 2004 together with the King Baudouin Foundation, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The composition of the Commission reflected the changed situation in the Balkans, and symbolized the spirit of cooperation that was to guide the work of decision-makers from the region and the "international community". The Commission was chaired by former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato. Former German President Richard von Weizsäcker is also a member of the Commission.
The Commission went on four fact-finding trips through southeastern Europe between March 2004 and April 2005. Its members held talks with more than 330 high-ranking government officials and opposition politicians, representatives of multilateral organizations, non-profit organizations and think-tanks, the media, state-run and private companies, and religious leaders.
The aim of the International Commission on the Balkans was to present results which could stimulate debate on the future of the region and ultimately help develop a vision for the integration of the countries of Southeast Europe into the European Union.
"If the European Union chooses success over failure in the Balkans, the next two years could see the beginning of a long-term solution that would enable all parties to close the book on the Balkans' bloody twentieth century and secure the peace which has been established at such high human and financial cost," Giuliano Amato wrote in his report “The Balkans in Europe's Future”. "Once that is achieved, it would also mean that this was the last International Commission on the Balkans which had to be formed."
The Commission went on four fact-finding trips through southeastern Europe between March 2004 and April 2005. Its members held talks with more than 330 high-ranking government officials and opposition politicians, representatives of multilateral organizations, non-profit organizations and think-tanks, the media, state-run and private companies, and religious leaders.
The aim of the International Commission on the Balkans was to present results which could stimulate debate on the future of the region and ultimately help develop a vision for the integration of the countries of Southeast Europe into the European Union.
"If the European Union chooses success over failure in the Balkans, the next two years could see the beginning of a long-term solution that would enable all parties to close the book on the Balkans' bloody twentieth century and secure the peace which has been established at such high human and financial cost," Giuliano Amato wrote in his report “The Balkans in Europe's Future”. "Once that is achieved, it would also mean that this was the last International Commission on the Balkans which had to be formed."
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