Europe and the Western Balkans: Dull Reality and Unrealistic Expectations Analysis After the EU accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia have been vetoed by French President Emmanuel Macron, the question remains how and why the EU accession process for the Western Balkans seems to be going nowhere, and what this potentially means for the region. By Zlatko Dizdarević
Western Balkans: Seizing Opportunities, Expanding Influence and Fending Off Dangers Analysis Why EU-integration? Why should the Western Balkans, a region where criminal networks have been gaining ground and corrupt elites have systematically captured state institutions for the benefit of their own criminal business models, enter the EU? Why, when human rights are trampled upon in the region, with manifestations of nationalist radicalization overall? One can hear these questions repeatedly in the political discourse. By Marion Kraske
The European Union and the Western Balkans: Bad Plans and Unfulfilled Promises Article Generally, the reconciliation processes in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in most other Balkan countries seem to retrograde. Economic and political situations are still unstable and a brutal plunder of state and social property left devastating consequences. The EU's interference in the region doesn't help stabilising the 'black mosaic'. By Zlatko Dizdarević
EU’s Role in speeding up energy transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine Documentation Obviously, the destiny of sustainable transition of Western Balkan and Eastern European economies is above all in control of the respective countries themselves. Still, the EU is in a decisive position to create conditions for a dynamic of change and a successful modernisation. By Robert Sperfeld
Out of Focus: the EU’s Relations with the Western Balkans Article The EU has lost a great deal of its standing and influence in the Western Balkans. Domestic political elites consolidate their power through ever-tightening control over civic space. Why do millions of euros in governance and civil society assistance have failed to support robust democracies? By Toby Vogel
Thousands of refugees in difficult conditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina Article More than 8,000 people have crossed the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina since the beginning of the year, the number is increasing each day. Only a few hundred of those who are registered are decent accommodations, others live on the streets, in provisional camps. Those happier among them found accommodation with the local population or in hostels and hotels. By Nidžara Ahmetašević
The Role of the European Union in Its Neighbourhood and in the World With an unleashed US president seemingly determined to destroy tried and trusted transatlantic ties along with the multilateral order that the United States created together with its Western European allies after WWII, the European Union finds itself more and more on its own. The EU has to (re)define what role it wants to play in a global context and in its neighbourhood. In light of the loss of important military and soft power through Brexit and the ongoing internal crisis characterised by Euroscepticism and right-wing populism, this prospect is uninviting, but urgency and necessity are obvious. In this web dossier, we will focus on three topics: the Western Balkans enlargement strategy; the conflicts in the Middle East (Jerusalem, Syria), the refugee crisis and the transatlantic tug-of-war.
The Role of the European Union in Its Neighbourhood and in the World The EU has to (re)define what role it wants to play in a global context and in its neighbourhood. In this web dossier, we will focus on three topics: the Western Balkans enlargement strategy; the conflicts in the Middle East (Jerusalem, Syria), the refugee crisis and the transatlantic tug-of-war.
The EU Migration Dilemma The world needs a framework for global migration governance. Inaction means no more and no less than moral and political failure to address one of the most pressing issues of our time. By Jelena von Helldorff
Joint Declaration on the current state of refugee policy The European Union needs a humane refugee policy. Find here the declaration of leading politicians of the German Green party.
