In order to strengthen democracy, parliamentarianism and the rule of law in the countries of the Western Balkans, a Fellowship programme was established.
With the Western Balkans Fellowship Programme, the Parliament - in cooperation with the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) - offers Fellowships to staff members of the Parliaments of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The participants complete a six-week internship in the Austrian Parliament and work in various areas.
Aimed at contributing to the consolidation and development of democratic structures by deepening the exchange on political and administrative levels, a cooperation between the Austrian Parliament and the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) was initiated by the President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka. The Western Balkans Fellowship Programme of the Austrian Parliament, in cooperation with the EFB, is the continuation of the pilot project "EFB Scholarships 2019/2020 in the Austrian Parliament." The Western Balkans Fellowship Programme is funded by the Austrian Parliament and implemented by the EFB.
The programme focuses on national parliament staff of the six Western Balkan countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
It provides participants with a unique opportunity to learn about the functioning of the Austrian Parliament, the workings of a parliamentary administration within the EU, and the role of national parliaments in the EU as a whole. Based on their respective field of interest, Fellowship participants work in different areas of the Parliamentary Administration such as EU cooperation, National Council service, communication, or in legal, legislative and scientific services.
The call for the programme 2023/2024 runs from 21 December 2023 to 29 February 2024 and can be found on the website of the European Fund for the Balkans.
The first two generations of Fellows successfully completed a six-week work placement between September 2019 and fall 2021. The third generation of Fellows will complete their Parliamentary Administration placement in 2023.
In addition, the "Joint Seminar" takes place every two years in order to strengthen the network of Fellows and for them to learn about parliamentary institutions such as the Court of Audit or the Ombudsman Board as well as EU institutions located in Vienna. The seminar also offers the opportunity to deepen the exchange with the Bilateral Parliamentary Groups and to meet representatives of think tanks.
