Staying, not leaving
Youth emigration is the region's quietest crisis. We trade what works on jobs, housing and returning talent, so young people have a reason to build a life at home.
Young elected representatives from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, working across borders that older politics kept closed.
About the network
The Balkans' youngest legislators came of age in a region still settling its past. They share more than their parliaments often admit: the same brain drain, the same road to Europe, the same voters asking why so many friends have left.
The Balkan Young Parliamentarians Network brings those representatives together. It is a peer network for members of parliament, assembly members and local councillors aged 35 and under, across parties and across borders, built on the simple idea that the next Balkans will be negotiated by people who actually talk to each other.
The network is newly founded. Member profiles are being confirmed and some content on this site is illustrative.
The region
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
Our work
Youth emigration is the region's quietest crisis. We trade what works on jobs, housing and returning talent, so young people have a reason to build a life at home.
Accession is a legislative marathon. Members share how reforms were drafted, passed and implemented, and hold each other to the pace.
Cross-party, cross-border friendships between young MPs are the region's cheapest peace dividend. We make them routine instead of rare.
Transparent budgets, honest procurement and parliaments that answer to citizens, championed by the members who will inherit them.
The long view
Laws for the Balkans our children will inherit, and a reason for them to stay in it.
In the Balkans the long term is not abstract. Young people keep leaving, populations are ageing, and the reforms and energy choices made this decade, from accession laws to the move away from coal, will decide the air, the jobs and the pensions of the next generation.
Five of our eleven countries are EU member states. The other six are candidates or potential candidates. As Europe builds intergenerational fairness into its policymaking, both can lead rather than follow.
The Balkan Young Parliamentarians Network, part of the Centre for Youth Policy's family of young parliamentarian networks, works with its members to build lasting parliamentary institutions for future generations.
A growing movement
The European Union created its first Commissioner portfolio for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport. In March 2026 the Commission adopted its first strategy on intergenerational fairness, including a youth check on EU policymaking.
Hungary, which borders four of our countries, has an ombudsman for future generations. Since 2012 the post has been a deputy to the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights.
Six Western Balkan governments founded the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), based in Tirana, to bring young people together across borders.
The EU's Growth Plan for the Western Balkans ties €6 billion in grants and loans for 2024 to 2027 to reforms whose effects will outlast any one parliament.
Wales passed its Well-being of Future Generations Act and created an independent Future Generations Commissioner.
Finland's parliament set up a Committee for the Future, a standing committee since 2000.
Malta created a Guardian of Future Generations under its Sustainable Development Act.
The United Nations adopted a Declaration on Future Generations at the Summit of the Future.
There is still no single model. Young legislators should help shape what comes next.
Our plan
We help members set up cross-party groups for future generations in their own parliaments, with guidance that fits each system, from Ljubljana to Tirana.
We work with members on model motions and bills, from a duty to future generations to intergenerational impact assessments, and on building Europe's fairness approach into accession and transposition work from the start.
We support members to test real bills and budgets for their long-term effect, starting with accession reforms, the energy transition and pensions, and to publish what they find.
We are developing a regular report with members that tracks how the region's future is faring: youth emigration, air quality and youth employment among the first measures.
We pair members from EU member states with members from candidate countries, and connect both with institutions that already do this work, so each learns from what has worked elsewhere.
Are you an elected representative aged 35 or under who wants to champion future generations in your parliament? We would like to hear from you.
Register interestLeadership
The network is led by serving young legislators from the region, elected by the membership.
Chair
Poslanik u Skupštini Crne Gore
Co-chair
The people
Founding members are being announced one at a time. Open seats are shown below.
Founding member · Chair
Nikola Zirojević is a Member of the Parliament of Montenegro (Skupština Crne Gore) and the founding Chair of the Balkan Young Parliamentarians Network, leading its work to bring young legislators together across parties and borders.
Source: Portal Analitika
What members receive
Practical support for young legislators who have already won office and now need the tools to govern, communicate and stay effective. Delivered in phases by the Centre for Youth Policy, the network's secretariat.
A digital constituency office: a professional member website, verified profile, communications templates, contact forms, and newsletter and broadcast tools.
A research support desk, a speech and question bank, monthly policy briefings, and model motions and committee questions.
A casework and issue tracker, constituency surveys, town-hall templates and annual report templates.
A re-election and career toolkit, peer advisory circles, and staff, intern and fellow matching for small offices.
Member profiles, op-eds and podcast slots, regional spotlights, and a formal membership certificate and digital badge.
Digital security audits, misinformation response, crisis communications support and online-harassment guidance.
Expert office hours, fellowship and opportunity alerts, and access to EU, Council of Europe, UN and regional forums across South East Europe.
Most services roll out through 2027 and are available to all active members.
Become a memberSecretariat & fiscal sponsor
The Centre for Youth Policy runs the network's secretariat and delivers member services, as it does for sister networks of young parliamentarians around the world.
Save the date
The network's first annual gathering. Young legislators from across the region set a shared agenda, compare notes off the record and welcome the next intake of members.
Request an invitationGet involved
If you serve as an elected representative aged 35 or under anywhere in the region, national or local, register your interest and we will be in touch as the network grows.
Partners, youth organisations and supporters are welcome too.