Poznań Summit, Blanuša: Governments Should Keep Promises Given to Young People
POZNAŃ – RYCO Secretary General Mr Đuro Blanuša participated in the Leaders’ Meeting which gathered the European heads of states and prime ministers at the Poznań Summit on Friday when he presented the work of RYCO but also called the governments of the region to keep promises to young people.
The meeting’s plenary session inaugurated by Polish President H.E. Mr Andrzej Duda and hosted by Polish Prime Minister Mr Mateusz Morawiecki discussed the most important issues for the Western Balkans region, including the youth.
In his address, Mr Blanuša pointed out that RYCO is still one of the most concrete results of the Berlin Process and used the opportunity to thank the governments of the region for signing the Agreement on the Establishment of RYCO on 4 July 2016 in Paris.
Speaking about the challenges RYCO is facing in its operations, he underlined that the deadlock situation in the Governing Board is now overcome and pointed out that it would not be possible without readiness of the governments in Belgrade and Pristina for making compromises. He also highlighted the support of the governments of France, Germany but also of the EU.
RYCO Secretary General also updated the European and Western Balkan leaders on the ongoing projects and highlighted the importance of RYCO Open Calls.
“We can now talk about thousands of young people who will pass through our programs until the end of the year,” Mr Blanuša said.
Moreover, he also shared the latest data regarding young people in the region and their attitudes towards the politics and public institutions and warned the leaders that these data show a worrying trend of young people not trusting the public institutions and wanting to leave the region.
Secretary General underlined that the governments of the Western Balkans should keep their promises given to the young people of the region and said that it is urgent to deliver on the promises.
“I urge you to listen to these worrying data and act in the best interest of young people. I also want to remind you about our slogan, which we strongly believe in and we hope you do, too,” Mr Blanuša highlighted and concluded saying: “A better region starts with youth.”