The German Greens’ future foreign policy challenge in the Western Balkans
The German Greens’ positions on the Western Balkans check all the right boxes. The challenge will be to translate these positions into a bold policy on the region.
Western Balkans
Vaccine passports: How the EU can win the next round of covid diplomacy
A new EUROVAX scheme should be at the heart of the EU’s new offer to help its neighbours tackle covid-19 in the years ahead
China’s strategic approach to the Western Balkans
How much influence does China already ha be in the Western Balkans and how should European policymakers react?
The Balkans non-paper and the dangers of Plan B
Only a firm framework of integration can bring long-term stability to the Balkans – this is as relevant today as it was in 2003, when EU leaders offered membership to all countries in the region
The EU’s Montenegro dilemma
Following a recent dispute over a $1 billion loan to Montenegro, the EU has an opportunity to take a more systematic approach to the growing Chinese presence in the Western Balkans
11 Mar
European Security Cooperation with Eastern Neighbourhood and Western Balkans
This high-level event will discuss ideas and recommendations that ECFR policy fellows Nicu Popescu and Gustav Gressel make in their 2020 policy brief on the security compact, and to extend these ideas to the Western Balkans
How Macron can strengthen the EU in the Western Balkans
France has blocked progress on enlargement in the Western Balkans. In the Biden era, Emmanuel Macron should think again about bringing the region into the EU
2 Mar
China in Europe’s periphery. How China became a power in the Western Balkans
The virtual roundtable, “China in Europe’s periphery. How China became a power in the Western Balkans”, will bring a small group of experts, officials, NGO and media representatives together in a discussion on China’s embedding in the region.
Kosovo snap election: A chance for action
The results of this week’s election could be transformative for Kosovo – but the challenges facing its new leaders are daunting
Decade of patience: How China became a power in the Western Balkans
As European and US ambivalence towards the Western Balkans persists, the region will be in increasing danger of falling into an endless spiral of competition between various foreign actors
Publications
Decade of patience: How China became a power in the Western Balkans
As European and US ambivalence towards the Western Balkans persists, the region will be in increasing danger of falling into an endless spiral of competition between various foreign actors
Bosnia to war, to Dayton, and to its slow peace
It will be difficult to sustain progress for Bosnia or the region without a credible and clear EU accession process
Viral vulnerability: How the pandemic is making democracy sick in the Western Balkans
The covid-19 crisis has accentuated Western Balkans countries’ pre-existing vulnerabilities – but has not brought about a new political era in the region
Hostage state: How to free Bosnia from Dayton’s paralysing grip
Restoring independence to the judiciary and strengthening the rule of law are key to the country’s future stability and success
The power of perspective: Why EU membership still matters in the Western Balkans
The EU should demonstrate its commitment to the Western Balkans by encouraging countries there to resolve their outstanding disputes
From myth to reality: How to understand Turkey’s role in the Western Balkans
Introduction By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.Learn more Load video…
Luck like the Irish: How emigration can be good for the Western Balkans
Introduction Few parts of Europe are more marked by emigration than the Western Balkans.[1] Yet despite many decades of its people leaving…
The Way Back: Brain Drain and Prosperity in the Western Balkans
The EU should do more to promote circular migration as part of their ongoing pursuit of European integration
Do the Western Balkans face a coming Russian storm?
Introduction “Serbia and the rest of the Balkans are a pawn in a great game of powers between Russia, the EU, and the US.”…
Return to instability: How migration and great power politics threaten the Western Balkans
EU’s weakness is prompting a new scramble for power for the Balkans with Russia, Turkey and other actors
Articles
The German Greens’ future foreign policy challenge in the Western Balkans
The German Greens’ positions on the Western Balkans check all the right boxes. The challenge will be to translate these positions into a bold policy on the region.
Vaccine passports: How the EU can win the next round of covid diplomacy
A new EUROVAX scheme should be at the heart of the EU’s new offer to help its neighbours tackle covid-19 in the years ahead
The Balkans non-paper and the dangers of Plan B
Only a firm framework of integration can bring long-term stability to the Balkans – this is as relevant today as it was in 2003, when EU leaders offered membership to all countries in the region
The EU’s Montenegro dilemma
Following a recent dispute over a $1 billion loan to Montenegro, the EU has an opportunity to take a more systematic approach to the growing Chinese presence in the Western Balkans
How Macron can strengthen the EU in the Western Balkans
France has blocked progress on enlargement in the Western Balkans. In the Biden era, Emmanuel Macron should think again about bringing the region into the EU
Kosovo snap election: A chance for action
The results of this week’s election could be transformative for Kosovo – but the challenges facing its new leaders are daunting
How to advance a European solution to Bulgaria’s and North Macedonia’s dispute
North Macedonia was on a seemingly good track towards EU accession, until Bulgaria’s objection in November. But it is not too late to break the deadlock
China goes granular: Beijing’s multi-level approach to the Western Balkans
China’s granular engagement with the Western Balkans is inconspicuous, has the capacity to exploit differences between national policies, and can harness local entrepreneurship to develop ties with the country
Twin crises: Political dysfunction in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue
Regardless of the result of the US election, it is up to the EU to show robust leadership and gain credibility in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia
The voting dead: Why electoral fraud in Bosnia should matter to the EU
Voter fraud and voter intimidation appear in many forms in Bosnia, and are becoming especially visible ahead of upcoming local elections in November
Podcasts
China’s strategic approach to the Western Balkans
How much influence does China already ha be in the Western Balkans and how should European policymakers react?
How to deal with our Western Balkan neighbours?
North Macedonia and Albania wanted to start negotiations with the EU after having been candidate countries since 2005 and 2014. But the enlargement plans seemed…
Macedonian referendum: What happens next?
Mark Leonard speaks with Vessela Tcherneva and Robert Cooper about the contested result and how it might be solved. Bookshelf: Carnegie report on…
Conférence publique avec Hashim Thaçi, Président de la République du Kosovo
Conférence publique avec Hashim Thaci, Président de la République du Kosovo, modérée par Sylvie Kauffmann, Directrice éditoriale au Monde. …
New chaos in the Balkans: what role left for the EU?
Mark Leonard talks with the director of ECFR's office in Sofia, Vessela Tcherneva and the director of ECFR's Wider Europe programme, Fredrik Wesslau about the…
Francisco de Borja Lasheras, director de la oficina de ECFR Madrid, entrevista a Andreja Stojkovski, en Skopje, Macedonia.
Francisco de Borja Lasheras, director de la oficina de ECFR Madrid, entrevista a Andreja Stojkovski, presidente del Macedonian Centre for European Traininng, en Skopje, Macedonia
The Yugoslavia War Crimes Tribunal: A Model for Justice or an Anomaly?
What does the ICTY’s track record suggest about the future direction and potential of the International Criminal Court? On the panel discussing are Julian…
Futuro de la ampliación de la UE en los Balcanes Occidentales y el papel de la sociedad civil
Francisco de Borja Lasheras participó el pasado 26 de febrero en la Conferencia Internacional “Civil Society and Beyond: A Joint Dialogue on the European Path”…
Rebooting EU foreign policy part 2 – Spiros Economides
In the second of two podcasts, Spiros Economides of the London School of Economics argues that the EU needs to think strategically about how…
Rebooting EU foreign policy part 1 – Nick Witney
Nick Witney, co-author of the ECFR publication 'Rebooting EU foreign policy', explains the need for a rethink of how the EU deals with the…
In the media
This means that Kosovo not only lacks bilateral recognition from these individual states. But Kosovo also lacks this multilateral recognition, which materialises through UN membership.
Skopje may get an answer from Sofia in December, when Bulgaria has a government with a clear mandate, but the chance of that is very slim
The ongoing political crisis in Bulgaria leaves little chance that Sofia will lift its veto on the European integration of Northern Macedonia by the end of the year, says Vessela Tcherneva
Political leaders must accept reality and start mapping out realistic interim steps that could improve conditions in the region without abandoning the final goal
ECFR Co-Chair Carl Bildt calls for action on the stalled Western Balkans EU integration process to avoid a return to violent conflict
Amid uncertainty about EU enlargement and the US’s shift to the Indo-Pacific, one of the few axioms when it comes to the Western Balkans revolves around the need for an alternative EU agenda
Majda Ruge outlines the six principles that should guide EU policy in the Western Balkans
Montenegro’s external debt was 91.6 per cent of its economic output in 2020, according to a recent study by ECFR.
The Münchner Merkur refers to a commentary by Majda Ruge and Vladimir Shopov