While the Western Balkans countries are focused on negotiating their accession to the European Union, they must not overlook proposed potential structural changes in the EU that would have a profound impact on Enlargement Policy and fostering regional connections. With the vague future of the Western Balkans countries’ accession prospects, reform of the functioning of…
Details
Despite the progress made within the EU accession process and the gradual harmonization of the institutional framework with the acquis and European standards in this field, media freedom remains at an unsatisfactory level in all states in the region. While in some of them there is a slow process of improvement towards the desired standards, in others…
Details
Photo: Adam Jones Adam63 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons The fact that the EU’s newly released Enlargement Strategy for the countries of the Western Balkans mainstreams regional reconciliation and transitional justice (TJ) as one of the three crucial areas that require comprehensive and convincing reforms should not come as a surprise. This emphasis on reconciliation and…
Details
The long anticipated new EU strategy for the region opens with the statement that “the six Western Balkans partners are a part of Europe, geographically surrounded by EU Member States.” The wording finally, in an inconspicuous way, recognises the six countries as partners rather than subordinate parties, the interaction with whom is mainly focused on…
Details
The much-awaited new Enlargement Strategy, entitled “The Credible Enlargement Perspective for the Western Balkans” was presented earlier today by the High Representative Vice-President Federica Mogherini and Commissionaire Johannes Hahn during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Acknowledging the fact that some eighteen years after the launch of the Stabilisation and Association Process…
Details
Photo: Medija centar Beograd [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons In his last interview, published in the magazine Vreme in September 2017, Oliver Ivanović stated: “Let me be clear. The people (the Serbs in the northern Kosovo) are not afraid of the Albanians, but of the Serbs, the local strongmen and the criminals, who drive around in…
Details
Photo: © European Union , 2017/ Source: EC – Audiovisual Service In recent weeks, the EU integration of the Western Balkan six (WB6) countries seems to have picked up pace. Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) have now entered into force for all WB countries. While Montenegro and Serbia continue their accession negotiations, Albania awaits the opening…
Details
Dr. Simonida Kačarska, Director of the European Policy Institute in Skopje, Macedonia In his last State of the Union address, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reminded us of the obvious: that there would be no enlargement during the mandate of this Commission. He also underlined that the credible enlargement perspective for the Western Balkans…
Details