EU support is not abstract — it can be seen in the streets of Western Balkan cities, in growing businesses, and in the opportunities opening up for young people.
The two-day “Creative HUB” event, organized by WeBalkans in Belgrade at the end of April, became a meeting point for journalists, communicators, entrepreneurs, and EU representatives from across the region. Dedicated to economic development, the HUB is part of the EU with YOU campaign and brought together participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia around a single question: how can EU support be made visible, tangible, and beneficial to citizens?
Marie Brancaleone from the Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood reminded participants that the EU accession process is, at its core, a process of transformation that affects everyday life — from the air people breathe to the markets where they place their products. Raluca Costache, Head of the WeBalkans programme, and Selena Tasić, Public Diplomacy Manager, then presented the EU with YOU campaign as a link between regional reforms and the citizens whose lives these reforms aim to improve.
From research laboratories to global markets
The morning “lightning talk” was delivered by Oskar Marko, Director of the Information Technology Centre at the Biosense Institute in Serbia. His message was clear: the opportunities offered by the EU deliver results when institutions know how to use them. Biosense has developed the practice of using Horizon Europe grants for agricultural innovations important to farmers across the region — proof that the path from EU funding to real impact is shorter than often assumed.
Three discussions, one message
The thematic panels that followed presented the economic landscape of the Western Balkans from three different perspectives. In the session supported by the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), moderated by Filip Lukić from N1, six speakers explained how this mechanism has mobilized nearly 9 billion euros and supported more than 600,000 businesses across the region. Benedykt Klimowski from the European Commission summed it up simply: “When your local bank offers you a better deal, EU support stands behind it.”
Edina Hadžić, founder of the Bosnian sustainable fashion brand “Sugar on Top,” highlighted the advantage of being in a smaller market: “You have to be honest about where you are. Everything is about real transparency.” Meanwhile, Tina Mihajlović, co-founder of the Serbian artificial intelligence startup in solar energy, Solarise Technologies, spoke about the gap between technical knowledge and market readiness, as well as the role of mentorship in bridging it.
The panel supported by the EBRD was moderated by Aleksandra Vukosavljević, Director for Financial Institutions for the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. The discussion focused on green and competitive small and medium-sized enterprises. The conclusion was clear: sustainability is no longer a choice, but a necessity driven by market demands, rising energy costs, and access to financing. ESG standards are now a key factor in the decision-making of banks and investors. Since SMEs account for 98–99% of companies in the region, aligning them with EU standards while competing in larger markets is at the heart of economic development.
The third panel, featuring representatives of EU Delegations from across the region and moderated by Marie Brancaleone, addressed the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans as a framework for economic transformation. Representatives from all six economies discussed what the next phase of integration will look like in practice.
The messages we conveyed
The first day concluded with a discussion that clearly emphasized the purpose of the event. Journalists Greta Topjana from Albania and Višnja Višnjić Milić from Serbia, together with the WeBalkans team, provided a summary and spoke about how stories about the EU travel and where they get lost. The key message was that programmes and financial instruments exist, but are not sufficiently utilized due to fragmented communication and lack of visibility. Bridging precisely this gap was the goal of the Creative Hub.
Day two: from policymaking to communication
The second day was dedicated to content production. The EU with YOU campaign was presented by Samra Lučkin, after which other members of the WeBalkans team — Arian Rexhepi, Vullnet Gacaferri, and Stanislava Marojević — worked with participants in groups to transform the discussion into concrete content: social media posts, photographs, short statements, and interviews with participants. Plans were also developed for videos and journalistic stories that will be published in the coming weeks.
At the same time, the WeBalkans network enabled participants to present their work and find partners for regional cooperation.
The results of this work will continue to live beyond the event itself — on WeBalkans platforms, partner channels, and social media networks, where a new generation of Western Balkan citizens encounters the EU as a partner in everyday life.
EU with YOU
The Belgrade Creative Hub is the first event in a series of activities that WeBalkans, within the framework of the EU with YOU campaign, is planning across the region. EU with YOU is a regional public diplomacy campaign that connects EU support in the Western Balkans with the people, businesses, and communities that will experience this transformation. More stories and activities from this campaign will be published on WeBalkans’ digital communication channels in the coming weeks.
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