The Brdo–Brijuni Process: A Regional Initiative for Political Coordination and European Integration of the Western Balkans

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the historical formation and development of the Brdo–Brijuni Process as an informal political format of regional cooperation among the Western Balkan states, initiated by Slovenia and Croatia in 2013. The aim of the study is to clarify the evolution of the Process’s institutional nature, its functional priorities, and its role in supporting the region’s European integration course. The research is based on the final summit declarations, official European Union documents on enlargement policy, security and regional cooperation, as well as contemporary academic publications addressing transformation processes in South-Eastern Europe.

The article traces the transformation of the Process from a platform for post-conflict reconciliation and confidence-building into a mechanism of political coordination in the fields of infrastructure connectivity, energy security, migration policy, youth exchanges, and the alignment of positions on key challenges to European security. It is demonstrated that the informal character of the format, the absence of a rigid institutional structure, and the principle of consensus ensure its flexibility and political acceptability for the participating states.

The study substantiates that the joint summit declarations reproduce the strategic priorities of EU enlargement policy, contributing to their internal legitimation at the regional level. It is argued that the Brdo–Brijuni Process functions as an instrument of “soft institutionalization” of cooperation, strengthening the political socialization of elites, shaping horizontal mechanisms of responsibility, and enhancing the geopolitical resilience of the Western Balkans, while maintaining openness to the broader European context, including support for Ukraine.