The Western Balkans Fund’s Prishtina Chairmanship-in-Office (CiO) concluded on 17 December 2025, when, in accordance with the Fund’s Statute, the Chairmanship passed to Podgorica for 2026.
Yet the real story is not the date of the handover, but what remains after it: A stronger Fund, a more ambitious regional agenda and new formats that raised expectations for what regional cooperation can look like.
Having received the Chairmanship from Sarajevo in December 2024, Prishtina’s leadership translated into a focused agenda built around strengthening the Fund, expanding outreach and visibility, diversifying grant schemes, and deepening people-to-people links across the Western Balkans.
The Chairmanship year coincided with a major scaling-up of the Fund’s core schemes. The 7th Call for Proposals, launched in May, attracted 417 valid applications and 800 applications in overall, reflecting the strongest demand to date and a clear signal of the region’s growing appetite for structured cooperation.
The two WBF MOVE Grant schemes launched in 2025 also attracted the highest number of applications so far, further confirming that mobility, exchange, and direct collaboration remain among the most effective drivers of regional trust and long-term partnerships.
During the year, we also successfully structured and expanded the WBF Matching Grants, while advancing and launching initiatives strongly supported by Prishtina and all Contracting Parties, such as the Regional Networking and Dialogue Sessions, the Culture and Creativity schemes, the Western Balkans–Visegrad Fellowship and the Synergy Conference, among others.
Within this wide agenda of work and initiatives, the June Chairmanship Celebration in Prishtina was a moment to remember: a public expression of unity between the Secretariat, the Contracting Parties and the Prishtina Chairmanship, together with diplomats, media, and partners, to celebrate what was achieved and to set the tone for what comes next.
Now, the Chairmanship passes to Podgorica, but the momentum of 2025 does not.
We are confident that the Podgorica Chairmanship will build on this foundation with even greater outreach, sharper strategic development and stronger implementation expanding initiatives, widening participation, and delivering even more tangible results for citizens and organizations across the region.
