Innovative projects to strengthen the partnership with the European neighbourhood

Published on April 28 2025

The Annual Meeting of the General Assembly of the Practitioners’ Network will be held in Vienna on 22 and 23 April, marking the end of the French Presidency, which will pass the baton on to its Belgian and Swedish counterparts. At the same time, the recent Presidential Council for International Partnerships focused on the strategic issue of stabilising the European neighbourhood. In this respect, Expertise France remains committed to providing long-term support to these countries through the Global Gateway. A focus on some of these new initiatives.

In a geopolitical environment marked by instability at Europe’s borders, strengthening ties with the European Union’s immediate neighbourhood is a strategic priority for both France and the EU. The Global Gateway programme, launched by the European Commission four years ago, embodies this objective: invest in sustainable infrastructure, strengthen institutional capacities and promote inclusive development models, while affirming the sovereignty of the partner countries. As a key actor in this cooperation, Expertise France is deploying several structural projects in the Western Balkans, on behalf of France and in close cooperation with its European partners. These initiatives reflect Europe’s commitment to build a political, economic and human closeness with its neighbours, in support of common values and shared interests.

Focusing on European youth for a common dialogue and dynamism

Expertise France is implementing the Shared Horizons project in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia). The objective is to ensure that the storytelling is structured and build a future based on common values, while promoting work on understanding the past and common perspectives within the EU among young people in Southeast Europe.

This multi-sectoral project uses various tools, such as youth mobility through sport, with the NGO Play International, and the rehabilitation and economic development of heritage, alongside the NGO ALDA.

Bootcamps are organised for young people in the project’s countries of operation, with socio-sports and collective cooperation sessions on various issues. The objective is to strengthen cohesion among young people, as well as their life skills.

Activities are being carried out to support the development of entrepreneurial initiatives, by promoting the economic and touristic potential of heritage. The NGO ALDA is working on reclassifying and rehabilitating heritage, with the aim of strengthening local ownership and promoting a regional dialogue. In addition, it is working on the economic and touristic development of heritage as a driver for entrepreneurship and employability, in connection with the BOOST project.

The consideration of historical facts is a key issue in the process of building solidarity between neighbouring countries. Support is being provided to structure the project for the Museum of the 90s in Belgrade for this purpose. The objective is to address the turmoil of the 1990s through an innovative museographic approach, especially targeting young people. In the long term, this will foster reconciliation at the regional level.
To this end, the activities include the organisation of travelling exhibitions and support for teacher/student working groups based on writing history textbooks.

In addition, CFI is supporting the Shared Horizons project by providing expertise in countering misinformation, attuned to the current challenges underpinned by the conflicts and wars on Europe’s doorstep, which require work on awareness-raising and education to promote a strong and unified Europe. These issues related to informing the general public contribute to countering nationalist rhetoric and upholding positive European storytelling. To this end, CFI relies on relays (young journalists and influencers) and communication channels (social networks, podcasts) that can reach young people in the Balkans.

The Institut Français is organising debates on building a united Europe, directly involving young people from Balkan countries.
The aim of these debates is to discuss “shared memories” and European issues through a transdisciplinary and trans-European approach, focused on youth. They involve a wide range of European stakeholders, including historians and teachers/academics and, more broadly, figures from think tanks, the media, culture, the public sphere and young entrepreneurs.

Developing an inclusive entrepreneurial culture and network in the heart of Europe

One of the issues common to the Global Gateway Strategy and the new policy lines of the Presidential Council for International Partnerships (CPPI) is the promotion of innovation, as a source of competitive advantage and added value, in the projects implemented by Expertise France and all its European partners.

In Eastern European partner countries, the European EU4Innovation East project focuses on supporting innovation ecosystems through four main pillars: seed funding, support for incubation, community building, and increasing the international visibility of start-ups.
Indeed, the main objectives are to strengthen the maturity and sustainability of the start-up ecosystem in the region, and promote the convergence of start-up ecosystems towards the EU market.

This support includes establishing an enabling regulatory framework for innovative entrepreneurship and digitalisation in the priority sectors of each country.

In Ukraine, the main objective is to strengthen the innovation and start-up ecosystem, ensuring continuous progress in innovation development, while addressing the challenges caused by the war. This includes improving incubation and acceleration programmes for early-stage start-ups, closely coordinated with the efforts of the Ministry of Digital Transformation which aim to create an “enabling environment” for the rapid development of the AI, Biotech, Deep Tech and Greentech sectors. These initiatives are part of the WINWIN Digital Innovation Development Strategy, devised to foster growth at the national and regional levels.

In addition, the project will contribute to the reconstruction efforts in the Chernihiv region, supported by French co-financing. This support brings significant added value to the activities connecting the academic and economic sectors. It is thereby expanding opportunities for collaboration and development.

In line with Ukraine’s National Recovery Plan, the EU4Innovation East project aims to provide financing for Ukrainian early-stage start-ups, support Franco-Ukrainian academic partnerships, position France as a dynamic innovation hub, and facilitate networking between Ukrainian companies and French, European and international investors to scale up their impact around the world.