INVITATION: EU Enlargement to Western Balkans: How to Overcome the Deadlock?

We are more than honoured to invite you to the discussion on the topic: ‘EU Enlargement to Western Balkans - How to Overcome the Deadlock?’. The public debate will take place on Friday, 8th November 2019, from 17:00 to 19:00 in the European House (Jungmannova 24, Prague 1).

What positions are the Western Balkan countries in on their paths towards accession and what are the main obstacles? What implications might the European Council’s decision to postpone opening accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia have in the region? Can the EU maintain its credibility in the Western Balkans despite the current de-facto freezing of the EU enlargement? How can the EU overcome the current deadlock and make the enlargement process more efficient, especially about the rule of law and democratic reforms?

In the first part of the event, Mr. Marko Stojić from EUROPEUM and the MetropolitanUniversity in Prague will present his paper focused on the European Commission’s Progress reports on the Western Balkan countries. The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion focusing on the current state of the EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, the implications of the recent European Council’s decision to postpone opening of the accession negotiation with Albania and North Macedonia and possibilities of reform of the accession process to make it more efficient in the future.

PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME
17:00–17:15:  Introductory remarks
17:15–17:45:  Presentation by Marko Stojić
17:45–18:30:  Panel discussion with

• Malinka Ristevska Jordanova, European Policy Institute, North - Macedonia
• Marko Stojić, EUROPEUM and Metropolitan University in Prague
• Chair: Jana Juzová, EUROPEUM

18:30–19:00:  Questions from the audience

If you wish to attend the event, please register under this link. You can also find the event on Facebook.

Jana Juzová
Senior Research Fellow

Expertise: regionalism, Visegrad cooperation, democratization and European integration of the Western Balkan countries, EU enlargement