In a year in which the European Commission is not publishing progress reports on the countries seeking to join the EU, CEPS will take stock of recent developments in the Western Balkans and assess implications for the EU’s enlargement strategy. Is the prospect of accession – now pushed back to 2025, in the best case, even for frontrunners Serbia and Montenegro – sufficient to drive reform? Is the EU losing momentum in maintaining its influence on a region that is once again becoming a theatre for geopolitical competition? Can the region overcome political tensions and economic dislocation?
Join us for a debate with Angelina Eichhorst, Director for Western Europe, Western Balkans and Turkey at the European External Action Service, and Marko Kmezi?, Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz.