The next ‘big bang’: How the EU can fast-track enlargement amid geopolitical tensions
Quickly bringing in the Western Balkan candidates, Ukraine and Moldova to counter Russia or China poses many dilemmas for the EU
Western Balkans
Trust, anger and the limits of EU democracy promotion
Jessica Hendrick is joined by Morten Bøås to go inside RE-ENGAGE’s fieldwork across six EU candidate countries—revealing what citizens actually trust, why anger matters more than apathy and what Brussels keeps getting wrong about democracy promotion
Ukrainian border, Balkan future: How Trump’s peace deal could impact Kosovo and Serbia
A Russia-Ukraine peace deal that capitulates to Putin risks destabilising the Western Balkans, emboldening Serbian territorial claims and undermining EU credibility
Accelerate the accessions: Why faster is better in EU enlargement policy
The Ukraine war has revived EU enlargement for Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine, but they face obstacles. Accelerating membership for these frontrunners would unlock the process before rivals can take advantage
10
Dec
Asia
Energy Transition and EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans: Future Directions under China’s Growing Influence
This week at the European Parliament, the Sofia office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, together with the office of Radan Kanev, Member of the European Parliament from the EPP Group, convened a policy discussion on the role of the energy transition in advancing the Western Balkan countries’ path toward full EU membership
The EU’s enlargement reality check
Jessica Hendrick takes over The Neighbourhood to unpack what the EU’s 2025 Enlargement Package reveals about both Brussels’s expectations and life inside the candidate countries
Eyes wide shut: How to read China’s playbook in the Western Balkans
The global order no longer favours Western dominance, and Europe’s peripheries have become battlegrounds for competing powers. Yet, the EU’s enlargement policy has not kept pace with this new geopolitical reality
5
Jun
European Power
Rome Foreign Policy Club 2025 – Come Undone: Europa e Italia tra frammentazione globale e vulnerabilità del vicinato
Nella sua edizione 2025, la quarta da quando il progetto è stato lanciato, il Rome Foreign Policy Club riunisce giovani think tanker italiani under-40 per elaborare ipotesi di scenario rilevanti per la politica estera e multilaterale italiana ed europea. Tale esercizio si pone come obiettivo la formulazione di raccomandazioni a supporto delle attività di policy…
Stumbling blocs: Why the EU’s future security depends on successful enlargement
Europe needs to strengthen its collective security in the face of a more volatile US, Russia and China. The EU’s successful streamlining of its accession process would secure the wider neighbourhood—and its geopolitical future
Trump’s new Yalta: Eastern Europe risks being on the wrong side of the divide
Donald Trump has a radical economic agenda—and a developing allyship with Vladimir Putin. The EU needs to protect Europe’s eastern flank from corruption and the kleptocrats who could further isolate it from the West
Publications
Accelerate the accessions: Why faster is better in EU enlargement policy
The Ukraine war has revived EU enlargement for Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine, but they face obstacles. Accelerating membership for these frontrunners would unlock the process before rivals can take advantage
Eyes wide shut: How to read China’s playbook in the Western Balkans
The global order no longer favours Western dominance, and Europe’s peripheries have become battlegrounds for competing powers. Yet, the EU’s enlargement policy has not kept pace with this new geopolitical reality
Geopolitical greenery: How decarbonisation can speed the Western Balkans towards the EU
The EU should provide extra support to Western Balkan countries to boost the green transition—and ease future integration into the bloc
Balka-Seltzer: How to avoid excess gas in the Western Balkans
The Western Balkans could enact a comprehensive energy transition straight from coal to renewables – but the region seems to be drifting towards greater use of gas. It is in both the EU’s and the Western Balkans’ interest to mitigate this trend
The interest of values: The EU’s democracy promotion in the Western Balkans and the eastern neighbourhood
With EU enlargement back on the agenda, democracy promotion in candidate countries is a key geopolitical interest for the bloc. The EU’s previous efforts to promote democracy in the Western Balkans and eastern neighbourhood may hold valuable lessons for the years ahead
Catch-27: The contradictory thinking about enlargement in the EU
A new power audit of member states’ positions on EU enlargement shows broad agreement that it is a geopolitical necessity, but major disagreements about how to prepare the EU. To make credible progress, EU member states need to agree on a roadmap that addresses their conflicting concerns at the European Council meeting in December
Articles
The next ‘big bang’: How the EU can fast-track enlargement amid geopolitical tensions
Quickly bringing in the Western Balkan candidates, Ukraine and Moldova to counter Russia or China poses many dilemmas for the EU
Ukrainian border, Balkan future: How Trump’s peace deal could impact Kosovo and Serbia
A Russia-Ukraine peace deal that capitulates to Putin risks destabilising the Western Balkans, emboldening Serbian territorial claims and undermining EU credibility
Stumbling blocs: Why the EU’s future security depends on successful enlargement
Europe needs to strengthen its collective security in the face of a more volatile US, Russia and China. The EU’s successful streamlining of its accession process would secure the wider neighbourhood—and its geopolitical future
Trump’s new Yalta: Eastern Europe risks being on the wrong side of the divide
Donald Trump has a radical economic agenda—and a developing allyship with Vladimir Putin. The EU needs to protect Europe’s eastern flank from corruption and the kleptocrats who could further isolate it from the West
Climate of connection: The Western Balkans, the EU, and the value of transport
The EU can work with existing regional integration mechanisms in the Western Balkans to help cut carbon emissions through transport investment
America first, Europe next: Trump will change dynamics in Western Balkan security
With US involvement waning, Europe faces a critical test in securing the Western Balkans. Renewed EU commitment could transform its neighbourhood and bolster its security
Cultivating enlargement: How a green win in the European Parliament election could help the Western Balkans
The EU’s green agenda is threatened by a predicted surge to the far-right in the upcoming European Parliament election. Against this, mainstream candidates should remind voters that climate policy is not only necessary for decarbonisation, but an essential tool for EU enlargement
Separate to integrate: EU enlargement and the trouble with bilateral disputes
That EU enlargement is a geopolitical imperative is no longer in doubt. But to make enlargement happen, the EU may need to decouple bilateral disputes from the accession process
Depopulation blues: How immigration can counter emigration in the Balkans
To tackle the political and economic challenges posed by shrinking populations, Balkan governments need to approach immigration as an opportunity, rethinking their policies and political messaging
Before it’s too late: How the EU should support the Western Balkans’ EU accession
With Russia’s war on Ukraine raging on its eastern border, EU enlargement in the Western Balkans has a new geopolitical urgency. The EU must commit to supporting their accession – and a fixed date like 2030 alongside a staged approach will add credibility to this commitment
Podcasts
Trust, anger and the limits of EU democracy promotion
Jessica Hendrick is joined by Morten Bøås to go inside RE-ENGAGE’s fieldwork across six EU candidate countries—revealing what citizens actually trust, why anger matters more than apathy and what Brussels keeps getting wrong about democracy promotion
The EU’s enlargement reality check
Jessica Hendrick takes over The Neighbourhood to unpack what the EU’s 2025 Enlargement Package reveals about both Brussels’s expectations and life inside the candidate countries
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?
Listen on Mixcloud What does the ICTY’s track record suggest about the future direction and potential of the International…
Futuro de la ampliación de la UE en los Balcanes Occidentales y el papel de la sociedad civil
Listen on Mixcloud Francisco de Borja Lasheras participó el pasado 26 de febrero en la Conferencia Internacional “Civil Society…
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…
Events
10
Dec
Asia
Energy Transition and EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans: Future Directions under China’s Growing Influence
This week at the European Parliament, the Sofia office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, together with the office of Radan Kanev, Member of the European Parliament from the EPP Group, convened a policy discussion on the role of the energy transition in advancing the Western Balkan countries’ path toward full EU membership
5
Jun
European Power
Rome Foreign Policy Club 2025 – Come Undone: Europa e Italia tra frammentazione globale e vulnerabilità del vicinato
Nella sua edizione 2025, la quarta da quando il progetto è stato lanciato, il Rome Foreign Policy Club riunisce giovani think tanker italiani under-40 per elaborare ipotesi di scenario rilevanti per la politica estera e multilaterale italiana ed europea. Tale esercizio si pone come obiettivo la formulazione di raccomandazioni a supporto delle attività di policy…
12
Dec
Wider Europe
Taking stock of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue process
On 12 December, the German Embassy in Washington DC and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) will host a public discussion which will take stock of the dialogue process to date and will examine the future prospect for a swift solution to the dispute in order to contribute to the peace and stability of…
8
May
Asia
Rome Foreign Policy Club, Terza Edizione – Road to November 2024: prospettive e scenari globali delle elezioni americane
Nella sua edizione 2024, il Rome Foreign Policy Club riunisce giovani ricercatori italiani under 40 per costruire ipotesi di scenario che possano supportare la definizione di policy da parte del Ministero per gli Affari Esteri e la Cooperazione Internazionale. L’evento più significativo per l’anno in corso è indubbiamente rappresentato dalle elezioni americane di novembre il cui esito avrà enormi implicazioni su due aspetti cruciali del contesto internazionale: i rapporti con Cina e Sud Globale e le relazioni con Mosca alla luce del conflitto in Ucraina
European Power
Geopolitics of Enlargement: Ukraine Strategy
This webinar will discuss current revisions of the EU approach to enlargement policy and the security implications for Ukraine and the neighborhoods
European Power
Re-Engaging with Neighbours in a State of War and Geopolitical Tensions
Russia’s war against Ukraine has radically altered European security. Confronted by the direst security crisis in decades, EU policymakers are forced to fundamentally rethink their security policies. Europe has demonstrated unexpected unity and resolve, adopting a series of sanctions against Russia, increasing national defence spending, but also by deciding on a historic revival of EU…
Wider Europe
How to convince the European public to enlarge the EU
This event will discuss new polling data of six key EU member states in the enlargement debate (Germany, France, Denmark, Austria, Poland, Romania) and reveal what voters think about the geopolitical imperative of EU enlargement
6
Dec
European Power
L’allargamento e il futuro dell’Unione europea
Secondo appuntamento di una serie di tre working lunch realizzati congiuntamente da ECFR Roma, SDA Bocconi e l’Institute for European Policymaking @ Bocconi University
14
Apr
Asia
Представяне на доклад – Да разцъфтят хиляди контакти: Как Китай се съревновава за влияние в България
Гледай на Фейсбук Софийският офис на Европейския съвет за външна политика има удоволствието да Ви покани на представянето на новия доклад на Владимир Шопов, „Да разцъфтят хиляди контакти: Как Китай се съревновава за влияние в България“, в който авторът разглежда дипломатическите усилия на Пекин в България на национално и субнационално ниво…
In the media
The green agenda for the western Balkans entails clear criteria which these countries will have to fulfill in order to fuel their transition to green economies and environmental protection