The conference marking the 20th anniversary of the ISAC Fund was held on 3 February 2026 at the Aeroklub in Belgrade, bringing together representatives of the diplomatic corps, civil society, and the academic community. The event was dedicated to reflecting on two decades of work of the ISAC Fund, as well as to discussing current foreign policy challenges facing Serbia and the region in the context of European integration.
Director of the ISAC Fund, Nikola Petrović, welcomed the participants and thanked them for their attendance and continued support over the past two decades, noting that the event also served as an opportunity to present two new analyses. In his address, he emphasized the importance of cooperation with numerous donors, partner organizations, program beneficiaries, interns, and team members who have contributed to the development and continuity of the ISAC Fund’s work over the past 20 years. He also underlined that, despite the challenges on Serbia’s path toward European integration, the ISAC Fund remains committed to this goal, with a focus on aligning Serbia with the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and Common Trade Policy, training young leaders, foreign and security policy analysis, combating disinformation, and supporting the peace operations of the Republic of Serbia.
He also recalled that over the years the ISAC Fund has cooperated with more than one hundred organizations in Serbia, the region, and the European Union, and that a large number of young professionals and experts have passed through the Fund’s programs. Concluding his introductory remarks, he stressed that people, partnerships, and knowledge represent the most important outcome of two decades of the ISAC Fund’s work.
In the continuation of the program, the Ambassador of Canada Michelle Cameron addressed the audience, highlighting the importance of supporting initiatives that contribute to a better understanding of political and security processes in the Western Balkans. On that occasion, the publication “Western Balkans – New Alliances, Old Suspicions and Possible Future Scenarios” was presented, with the presentation realized with the support of the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives, as a contribution to the analysis of contemporary challenges and perspectives of the region.
Following this, Igor Novaković, Senior Associate of the ISAC Fund, presented the Analysis of Serbia’s Alignment with the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) for 2025. The document provides an overview of key trends, decisions, and challenges in the process of Serbia’s foreign policy alignment, as well as an assessment of progress achieved to date in this field. The publication comes at a time when issues related to alignment with the EU’s CFSP are increasingly in the focus of the domestic public and European partners, offering an important analytical framework for understanding the current dynamics of relations between Serbia and the European Union. The preparation of the analysis and its presentation were supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Serbia.
In the further course of the conference, the author of the study “Western Balkans: New Alliances, Old Suspicions and Possible Future Scenarios”, Marko Savković from the ISAC Fund, first presented the key findings of the publication, followed by a panel discussion involving Igor Novaković from the ISAC Fund, Milan Igrutinović from the Institute for European Studies, and Gordana Delić from the Balkan Trust for Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. The participants discussed current security and political trends in the Western Balkans, with a particular focus on the strengthening of defense capacities, regional initiatives and bilateral arrangements, as well as challenges related to trust and transparency in the region.
The discussion also covered possible future trajectories for the region, including scenarios of integration, fragmentation, and controlled competition, alongside an exchange of views on the implications of these processes for public policy decision-makers and the broader European context.