Capacity building in nuclear security education in Western Balkan countries

The Western Balkan (WB) countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. All of them are European Union (EU) membership candidates. WB countries are a part of the European neighborhood that is also close geographically and in terms of trade and smuggling routes to the Black Sea region, which is widely recognized as an area worst affected by illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials [1]. This paper will give an overview of existing nuclear security initiatives and nuclear facilities in the WB region and will focus mostly on the existing training and education programmes in WB countries and particularly in Serbia as an example. Different challenges in the region related to nuclear security education and training will be elaborated with some recommendations and directions towards establishment of optimal nuclear security capabilities and better and more sustainable nuclear security knowledge management.