How much more funds will the countries of the Western Balkans receive, once they become members, having in mind that our closest neighbour, Croatia, receives 10 times more from the EU for this area?

We talked with Ms Katarina Ivanković Knežević, Director in the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion in the European Commission, former State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Pensions of Croatia.

Članak Work-life balance in the EU – Benefits of becoming a member state se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

In this infographics, find out how the European Commission assessed Serbia in the latest report, which you can find here.
To download the infographic in full size, click here.

Članak Serbia’s progress and preparation for EU membership se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Članak Winds of change in Montenegro: What to expect in the next period? se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

From the standpoint of an advocate for the European project in Serbia also bitter about the hypocritical attitude of key EU actors towards political elites in Serbia and the Western Balkans, I perceive such a development as an opportunity to create a pan-European alliance for defending rule of law, bearing in mind that neither the EU’s future nor our region’s accession process, have much hope without brave and ambitious steps in this area.

Simply put, future enlargements will not happen, as long as a functional system for protecting rule of law is not established within the EU. Many member states will not permit new entrants if the only somewhat effective system of conditionality exists during accession negotiations (i.e. prior to membership). If there is no concrete progress in preventing breaches to rule of law, either on the EU’s side or by the candidate countries, the revised approach to the accession process of the Western Balkans (the “new methodology”) will also be limited in its application. How, for example, would one permit the phased accession of candidates to sectoral policies of the EU, such as within the single market cluster, knowing that the functioning of the single market is dependent on the proper application of rule of law?

To prepare for the difficult times ahead, the citizens of Europe need new guiding ideas and goals, which would give them a purpose and reawaken their spirits. A pan-European alliance for defending rule of law would have its stronghold in the citizens, as well as of political and economic actors of member states and EU aspirants, brought together both by normative ideals and pragmatic interests. Aware of the risks to the existing level of economic integration and legal security, or simply out of a wish to live in a better-organised society, this bloc has immense potential to gather a wide array of supporters and, with adequate political representation, to become a challenger to the status quo.

Beyond growing public endorsement, this alliance would be armed with existing initiatives and policy proposals at the EU level, which promise to start a revolution of sorts within the existing legal framework. Other than the infringement procedure which is launched by the European Commission (EC), and the preliminary rulings by the European Court of Justice, which could both be used more confidently in the future, a proposal for a Regulation on the protection of the Union’s budget in cases of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the member states, also deserves substantial attention. The goal of this regulation is to condition access to EU financial resources on adherence to rule of law, giving unprecedented authority to the European Commission. Among others, this regulation would turn the EC into a sort of Venice Commission for the EU budget, authorised to implement measures in cases of limited rule of law, in close cooperation with the European Public Prosecution Office and the European Anti-Fraud Office. The Council of the EU would also reach decisions by reverse qualified majority voting, intended to make it difficult for member states to block EC proposals, thus speeding up the decision-making process.

Eventually, the pan-European alliance would pressure political representatives and foster political will, in order to push forward various measures for the protection of rule of law within the framework of the EU as well as in the context of the Western Balkans’ accession process. Of course, this alliance would necessarily have to introduce sensitive issues to the public along the way, such as Europe’s demographic picture and policies, and (ir)regular migrations, which potential allies and supporters within the EU and the Western Balkans are perhaps not yet ready to face. Nevertheless, is it worth sacrificing the greatest achievements of the EU for the sake of defending the “gates of Europe” and its purported “Christian identity”, by mutually tolerating open breaches of rule of law? It most certainly is not, and now is the right moment to stop running from these issues out of a fear of populism and to instead shake up the status quo with a fresh perspective.

Članak The rise of a pan-European alliance for rule of law se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

In this episode, we talked to Gjergji Vurmo, programme director of Institute for Democracy and Mediation – IDM, Tirana-based think tank.

Članak Advancing Albania’s road to EU: Side with agendas and ambitions se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Članak What does the future of EU accession process hold? The case of North Macedonia se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

In fact, Germany’s ambitious presidency program reflects its renewed strategic outlook by instigating the EU’s recovery and ushering a path towards further integration. For this reason, the decisions made during Germany’s term have the potential to become a critical juncture for Union’s further evolution.

With the aim of uncovering what may lie ahead for Europe in the following period, this Insight examines Germany’s long-term vision for Europe, analysing its Presidency program and scrutinising Germany’s positions on the pressing questions of the EU recovery fund and Multi-annual Financial Framework, climate and the environment, rule of law conditionality, and EU common foreign and security policy. At the same time, it analyses the place of the Western Balkans in such a complex network of priorities.

Članak The German Presidency of the Council of the EU se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

With our dear guest, Vladimír Bilčík, member of the European Parliament and its rapporteur for Serbia, we talked about the election results, relations between the European Union and the countries of the Western Balkans, and regional relations, especially the turbulence between Montenegro and Serbia, and how this affects the EU accession process.

Članak EP remains engaged in fostering democracy in the Western Balkans se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

We will address these questions in this podcast episode with our Chairman of the Governing Board and BIEPAG member, Srđan Majstorović.

Članak COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity to enhance EU – Western Balkans relations se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

To discuss this and other related topics, we reached Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)and former member of the Albanian Parliament and Minister of European Integration in the Albanian Government. RCC serves regional cooperation and European and Euro-Atlantic integration of South East Europe in order to spark development in the region to the benefit of its people. Find out more about their work here: www.rcc.int.

Članak Keeping a physical distance, yet keeping the region close se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

This has resulted in a weakening of the EU’s gravitational force in the region, allowing space for other global and regional powers. The increase in economic cooperation between Serbia and China, as well as Serbia’s signing of a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, has made this especially clear.

We discussed these issues with our guest, ambassador Duško Lopandić, CEP Council member.

This episode coincides with the publishing of annual ranking of top think tanks worldwide by The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program by the University of Pennsylvania, where CEP regularly finds their place. CEP is ranked as the best think tank in the WB and among the top ten in Central and Eastern Europe.

Članak Balancing between East and West: can Serbia benefit from a flexible foreign policy? se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.

Our guest is H.E. Gilles Beschoor Plug, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Serbia and to Montenegro.

Članak Strict, fair & committed – the Dutch Approach to the Enlargement se pojavljuje prvo na European Policy Centre.