In 2022, civil servants from Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia participated in the Think Visegrad Civil Servants Mobility Programme in Budapest, organized by the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The main topic for five civil servants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina revolved around the changing security architecture of Europe and NATO integration, with a special focus on Hungary’s experience in the military alliance. Participants paid visits to numerous institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Ministry of Defense, Prime Minister’s Cabinet as well as the Headquarters Multinational Division Center and NATO Force Integration Unit Hungary in Székesfehérvár.
The central theme of the study visit for four civil servants from North Macedonia included EU regional and agricultural policies as well as Hungary’s experiences concerning its EU accession process. The delegation held meetings with relevant departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Ministry of Agriculture, Prime Minister’s Office as well as visited the Western Balkans Green Center and the National Chamber of Agriculture.
The main objective of the Civil Servants Mobility Programme is the education of civil servants from Eastern Partnership and Western Balkan countries through organizing study visits in the V4 countries. The study visits are focused on the experience of Visegrad countries in the implementation of the sectoral reforms and harmonisation of the national legislation with the EU acquis communautaire with a specific focus on the topic of the study visits.
Civil servants were selected with the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary and the Hungarian Embassies in Sarajevo and Skopje. The week-long professional programmes were organized by IFAT’s Balkan research group.