IDM Director Contributes to Expert Roundtable on Western Balkans at Australian Embassy Vienna

IDM Director Contributes to Expert Roundtable on Western Balkans at Australian Embassy Vienna 

Sebastian Schäffer, Director of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM), was invited to share his expertise at a high-level expert roundtable hosted by the Australian Embassy in Vienna on 20 May 2026. The event brought together specialists on the Western Balkans to discuss current political and economic trends in the region and facilitate knowledge exchange among diplomatic missions accredited to Western Balkans countries. 

Alongside Schäffer, the panel featured Klaus Wölfer, former Austrian diplomat and IDM board member; Predrag Jurekovic, Researcher at the National Defence Academy of Austria; and Selma Sehovic, Regional Program Manager at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Dialogue Southeast Europe. Representatives from multiple diplomatic missions contributed to what proved to be a timely and substantive exchange on one of Europe’s most dynamic regions. 

The roundtable reflects IDM’s ongoing engagement with the diplomatic community in Vienna and its commitment to fostering informed dialogue on EU enlargement and regional integration in Southeast Europe.