Cyber security – Signing of the treaty on the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (16 October 2023)

Statement by the ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs spokesperson

On the occasion of the Berlin Process summit of heads of State and government in Tirana on 16 October 2023, Mme Laurence Boone, Minister of State for Europe attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ms Nataša Pirc Musar, President of Slovenia, and Mr Dritan Abazović, Prime Minister of Montenegro, signed a treaty granting the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) the status of international organization.

In addition to our commitment at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Granada on 5 October 2023 to extend the EU’s cyber reserve to EPC countries in order to improve the cyber incident response continent-wide, this high-level signing once again testifies to France’s commitment to the European continent’s cyber resilience, by working on the Western Balkans’ cyber capacity-building over the long term.

Through training activities on cyber security and the fight against cyber crime, the centre will also bolster cooperation between the countries in the region and internationally.

The future international organization, which will be created by 2025 following the process of ratification by the founding States, is set to bring together in its governance the countries in the region, as well as those European and international partners which would like to contribute to this regional platform’s cyber-capacity-building activities. In this regard, the WB3C fully reflects the spirit of the Berlin Process, aimed at developing regional cooperation and deepening ties between the Western Balkans and the European Union.