In a unique gathering, leaders from a wide spectrum of political parties across Southeastern Europe, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia, met in Stockholm. Despite representing diverse ideologies and often being at odds with one another, these leaders joined forces to discuss and understand political integrity systems. This term encompasses the culture, practices, and rules of political parties concerning financial accountability, ethics, fair candidate selection, and inclusion of marginalized groups. The conversations and interactions were fueled by a shared desire to improve public trust, a critical issue in Southeast Europe where political entities are often viewed as corrupt or untrustworthy. The discussions involved sharing and learning from Swedish political parties' practices of internal democratic norms, financial management, and candidate selection. This endeavor, a part of NDI's decade-long initiative connecting Swedish parties with Southeastern Europe for expertise sharing and funding, highlights the possibility of finding common ground even amid political differences. For more information, please use this link.
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