The first panel, on the morning of the 16th, featured Leon Malazogu from the Pristina think tank Kosovo Institute for Policy Research, Tim Judah of the Economist, Bernd Finke, a German diplomat who is Director of Political Affairs at the office of UN Special Representative Marti Ahtisaari in Kosovo, and Gerald Knaus of the European Stability Initiative. Ivan Vejvoda, director of the GMF Belgrade office, moderated the session. The panel gave a detailed insight into the political, economic, social, international aspects defining Kosovo's current position.

Stefan Lehne, an Austrian diplomat and key Kosovo negotiator in the office of the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, explained over lunch how the UN is working to find a viable solution for the status of Kosovo.

The second and final panel was on Serbia, with Milica Delevic Djilas, formerly head of  the EU integration office of Serbia and Montenegro, now a professor for International Relations at the Faculty of Political Science in Belgrade, Franz Lothar Altmann of the Berlin think tank Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) and Ivan Vejvoda. Tim Judah moderated.

The Balkans are a post-intervention area in which the US and EU have been closely engaged for well over a decade. Significant resources have been engaged in an effort to stabilize and bring lasting peace to this region of Europe. The EU and NATO enlargement processes of the Western Balkans are the backbone of stabilization and further consolidation of the democracies of the region. This year has already seen a successful referendum process whereby Montenegro has achieved its independence under a rigorous rule-based process overseen by the EU. The International Criminal Tribunal on Former Yugoslavia may see its last key indictees brought to trial this year and major efforts are under way to accomplish this outstanding obligation. Determining Kosovo's future is one of the main issues facing the transatlantic community this year. Negotiations on the future status of Kosovo are underway. They should secure future stability and the foundations of lasting peace for the Balkans, but also allow for the beginnings of troop disengagement as EU and NATO integration pick up pace. This process is directly related to the democratic consolidation in Serbia as it looks towards elections on January 21 and its continued efforts to catch up with the other countries in the region on its Westward path. The upcoming German presidency of the EU will be a crucial moment in the dynamic of Western Balkans integration, particularly in light of the fact that Kosovo's status will be decided in the first half of 2007. In the Balkans, the United States and Europe must finish jointly what they have jointly undertaken. It is here that they could demonstrate success after intervention. Their efforts, not only military, but in consolidating democratic institutions, supporting civil society and regional reconciliation, could be spotlighted and certain lessons applied to other post intervention or precarious post-conflict areas. Yet many questions remain open: How will Serbs respond to a UN Security Council resolution that in effect will sever Kosovo's ties to Serbia? What impact will the decision have on the security situation, and how will the UN, NATO and the EU deal with it? And what role will Russia play in all of this?