A new EU strategy for the Western Balkans: Lessons from EU-CEE
10 November 2022 2:00 pm CET
Study presentation and panel discussion
In cooperation with:
Venue
Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU, Avenue de Cortenbergh 30, 1000 Brussels
Description
The Russian invasion of Ukraine poses risks for the Western Balkans, where memories of the war are still present and ethnic disputes have never been settled. After spending almost two decades in the EU waiting room, sentiments towards the block are cooling in the Western Balkans. Without a credible EU perspective, the region is becoming vulnerable to geopolitical power games and democratic backsliding. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of this in the past several months, and the recommendation for a candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina is no game changer, either.
In its recent study „The long way round: Lessons from EU-CEE for improving integration and development in the Western Balkans“, the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) makes the case for a necessary change in the EU’s strategy towards the Western Balkans, as the current one has failed to deliver neither regional economic integration nor development. They analyse what a new EU strategy for the Western Balkans should look like and what lessons can be learned from the previous enlargement rounds with the EU member states from Central and Eastern Europe.
The authors will present the main results of their study, which was funded by the Bertelsmann Foundation, and discuss, within an expert panel and the audience, the following questions:
- How can the EU promote regional economic integration and development in the Western Balkans?
- What should be the new EU strategy for the Western Balkans?
- Are there prospects for a new dynamic in their EU accession process?
- What impact could visible progress have on the region as a whole and on its territorial and constitutional disputes?
- What is at stake for Europe if there is no visible progress?
Agenda
14:00 Welcome by Martin Hojni, Austrian Ambassador to the Political and Security Committee of the EU at the Austrian Permanent Representation.
Study presentation by Branimir Jovanovic, Economist, Balkan Expert and Lead author, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw)
Panel discussion
Jana Juzová, Senior Research Fellow, EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy
Stefani Weiss, Senior Expert for EU Governance, Foreign and Security Policy in the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s ‘Future of Europe’ programme Stefani Weiss
Mario Holzner, Executive Director, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw)
Branimir Jovanovic, wiiw
Chair: Michael Krull, First Secretary, Delegate COWEB and EU-Enlargement, Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU
15:30 End of event