Young people are building what politics keeps delaying
Written by YEA Uroš Šestović
When people speak about the European integration of the Western Balkans, the conversation often turns to institutions, negotiating chapters and political conditions. All of that matters, but it can make the process feel distant from everyday life. My experience as a Young European Ambassador has shown me another side of integration, one that begins much earlier than formal membership.
I understood this most clearly during the RYCO Berlin Process Youth Forum in Pristina, where I represented young people from Serbia. I arrived expecting discussions about regional cooperation, reconciliation and youth participation in policymaking. What stayed with me was not one speech or panel. It was the realization that young people from across the region were already able to speak directly, exchange ideas and work together without bringing every political disagreement into the room.
That may sound ordinary, but in the Western Balkans it is not insignificant. Our societies are still affected by mistrust, unresolved history and political narratives that regularly make cooperation appear more difficult than it is. Young people can challenge that pattern because we meet each other through work, travel and international programmes. Once you know someone personally, it becomes harder to reduce their community to a headline.
This is where the Young European Ambassadors network does an amazing job. It connects people who might otherwise never meet, then gives them a reason to continue the relationship. Through YEA, I have met ambitious young people from across the Western Balkans. These encounters did not make our differences disappear, nor should they. Instead, they made cooperation feel possible and realistic. The person sitting across from you is no longer a distant representative of a neighbouring society. They may become someone you call when developing an idea or looking for a partner in another country.
For me, this also has a strong economic aspect. As my main focus within YEA is Business and Entrepreneurship I believe regional cooperation is one of the top priorities for the economic future of the Western Balkans. Our individual markets are relatively small. Many capable young people leave because they cannot see enough room to build the life or career they want. At the same time, businesses that could expand across the region are often slowed down by political uncertainty, limited connections and a lack of trust.
Youth cooperation cannot solve these problems alone, but it can reduce the distance between our economies. A Serbian participant who meets a future entrepreneur from Albania may later build a company or project with them. A conversation at a forum may become a professional connection several years later. The result is not always visible immediately, but this is how economic relationships begin.
Before countries trade more, people must first believe that cooperation is possible and worthwhile. EU integration should therefore not be understood only as a process managed by governments. It is also reflected in the choices people make. Do they look for partners beyond their own borders? Do they trust someone from another Western Balkan society enough to work together? Do young entrepreneurs see the region as separated markets, or as a connected space with millions of potential customers, employees and collaborators? European values become meaningful when they affect these choices. Open dialogue matters when it allows people to work through disagreement. Fair institutions matter when a young business owner can invest without relying on political connections. Freedom of movement matters when talented people can gain experience abroad without permanently losing their connection to the region.
Pursuing my business degree in Italy, an EU country has also influenced my perspective. Living abroad showed me how strongly mobility and international exposure can expand a young person’s ambitions. It also made me more aware that the Western Balkans cannot afford to remain divided into isolated professional spaces. We need stronger ties with the European Union, but we also need to become better at working with one another.
Young people will not replace governments or complete the accession process themselves. Our role is different. We can make regional cooperation normal while political progress remains slow. We can form relationships that survive election cycles and changes in public mood. We can also insist that EU integration is connected to visible economic opportunity, especially for those who want to create businesses and build their careers in the region.
My experience in Pristina, Tirana, Skopje, Sarajevo, Podgorica, Belgrade and many other cities around the region left me with a clear belief. The future of the Western Balkans will partly depend on whether young people continue meeting across borders and whether those meetings lead to something real. Networks such as YEA give us that possibility. Our responsibility is to use it seriously.
