VIENNA – “WB2EU“ Network has published the final publication titled „Vision Western Balkans 2030 – Europeanisation meets democracy“, which contains selected op-eds and policy briefs

VIENNA –  The limited success of “Green Human City“ (GHC) and “Chance for Centar“ (CfC) leads to the main finding that independent lists can boost

VIENNA – The EU and its member states need to step up efforts and commit to internal coherent to improve their credibility and external projection

VIENNA – The current global political crisis is reflecting Bosnia and Herzegovina’s media sphere thus there is a need to open new discussions related to

VIENNA – Through the development of local communities and their civil input from below, Montenegro can help accelerate the reforms that are necessary for the

VIENNA – Inclusive decision-making processes that prioritise citizens and their needs, allowing their voices to shape the decisions that affect them, are at the core

“Europeanisation meets democracy from below: The Western Balkans on the search for new European and democratic Momentum (WB2EU)” project was launched in 2020. The idea

VIENNA – Upcoming democratic movements in Romania should clarify their goals and organizational structure early on and then try to become entrenched within groups of

VIENNA – Regional cooperation among the Western Balkan countries is crucial for their European integration process, agreed the participants of the closing event of the

VIENNA – Cooperation between authorities, civil society, historians, human rights experts, and representatives of minority communities should be enhanced to jointly confront the past, promote

VIENNA – It is the right time for decision-makers in Brussels to embark on a bold reform of EU enlargement policy in order to put

VIENNA – The Western Balkans to EU Network (WB2EU) will organize a new discussion on enlargement politics under the title “Is EU Enlargement back on

VIENNA – Every change affecting the Western Balkan reforms and convergence dynamics towards the EU must be designed by taking into account the “space”, meaning

VIENNA – New parties with reformist ambitions, such as We Continue the Change, should seek European legitimization by joining European political families, recommends Policy Brief “Citizens vs.

VIENNA – The 2015 refugee crisis led to the reinvigoration of civic activism in Greece and North Macedonia. However, while CSOs in both countries benefited

VIENNA – The EU should use its new momentum and extend its future comprehensive civil society strategy and the European Civil Space Index to the

VIENNA – The countries of the Western Balkan need to be convinced that digitalization must remain high on their agenda and given full attention, it

VIENNA – New Policy Brief “Civil society: a driver for democratisation from below in Serbia“,  published within the “WB2EU“ Network, presents the ways in which

VIENNA – Environmental issues in Western Balkan countries have become topical, particularly in recent years, with a significant increase in the number of NGOs active

Paul Schmidt, generalni sekretar Österreichische Gesellschaft für Europapolitik i koordinator mreže Western Balkans 2 EU, projekta Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Networks, govorio je za Oslobođenje Österreichische

Građani/ke Austrije ne dijele mišljenje zvanične politike zemlje o proširenju EU iako i država i bh. dijaspora ulažu dosta truda kako bi promijenile mišljenje skeptika

Samoj Evropskoj uniji su potrebne promjene kako bi mogla prihvatiti nove članice, navodi Paul Schmidt, čelnik Austrijskog udruženja za evropsku politiku u razgovoru za AJB.

VIENNA – Austrians remain skeptical on a further enlargement of the European Union – no (potential) candidate country could currently count on majority approval, show

VIENNA – There is a great issue regarding the lack of data on emigration in Romania which is a widespread phenomenon with both positive and negative

VIENNA – Kosovo has a unique demographic and a window opportunity for capitalizing on it, which will be closed sooner than expected if no action

VIENNA – The Western Balkan countries share similar environmental, economic, and social constraints when faced with the challenge of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which

BERLIN – “Western Balkans to EU” Network (WB2EU) will organize a new discussion on enlargement politics, Under the title “Towards a credible EU Enlargement Policy?

VIENNA – The socio-economic policy of the EU member states towards the Western Balkans is not long-term oriented, thus policy shifts should be made in

VIENNA – There is a high need for increasing youth participation in sectoral policy-making and establishing more inclusive, youth-friendly policies, it is concluded in the

VIENNA – In order to ensure the proper functioning of local self-governments as a governing system established on principles of direct and local democracy, it

VIENNA — Young people in the Western Balkans and the EU should be made aware of all possibilities for cooperation and reconciliation programs by relevant

VIENNA – Macedonian society is still very’ paper based’, and citizens hold strongly trust the paper rather than clicks. This is a reason why more

VIENNA — In order to effectively address the issue of demographic decline, Croatia needs to adopt a sustainable and comprehensive policy approach focusing on the

VIENNA — To secure effective implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, the European Union should include environmental civil society organizations (ECSOs) from

VIENNA – Discrimination against women in the labour market is a common occurrence and one of the primary causes of women’s unequal status in Serbia,

VIENNA — Visa liberalization for Kosovo, which is still on halt even though the government in Priština fulfilled the benchmarks back in 2018, should be

After two years of blockade, EU member states during July reached a consensus on opening negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. Ukraine and Moldova became

VIENNA — Bearing in mind the potential of culture for emancipation, reconciliation and integration, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to create a cultural policy that would

VIENNA — Returning migration has been strategically identified as one of the most efficient solutions for the problem of depopulation Bulgaria faces, however a lot

VIENNA – In the Western Balkans the socio-economic cost of air pollution due to dirty energy production is significant, it was concluded in the Policy

BELGRADE – Citizens are major actors in democratic development, together with both governmental and external support, we are able to raise awareness of the significance

BELGRADE – WB2EU network organizing in Belgrade public debate in the 5th Ideas go public Lab framework. Two panels will discuss inequality in the Western Balkans and the situation

After two years of blockade, EU member states during July reached a consensus on opening negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. However, many in North

Video statement on 23 June 2022 by Paul Schmidt: Rethinking Integration – Warum wir Erweiterung und Nachbarschaftspolitik jetzt neu denken müssen? Aufgrund des russischen Krieges

– Всички знаят, че държавите от Западните Балкани ще са част от ЕС, въпросът е само кога и как. – Разширяването трябва да е степенувано

PARIS –  The citizens of the Western Balkans deserve to live in societies where the rule of law and the fight against corruption function, and

PARIS – “Western Balkans to EU” Network (WB2EU) will organize an event on the politics of EU enlargement in France in Paris on 19 and

VIENNA – Considering the cumulative impact of a number of dominantly political factors that influence the judiciary, coupled with the internal mechanisms of undue influence,

VIENNA – Strengthening the administration of judiciary should be given more attention and be considered as a crucial part of rule of law reforms, as

VIENNA – Romanian society over the past two decades shows that strategic EU orientation at the political level can well be an opportunistic choice, whose

PRISTINA – Participation of youth in creating policies and culture plays a significant role in the Europeanization and democratization of Kosovo, but young people and

VIENNA – Structural and operational cooperation between EU member states, candidate countries and potential candidate countries is the best solution to fight against Europhobic discourse,

VIENNA – Judicial reform in Albania represents a case study to understand EU membership-driven reform processes in the Western Balkans. The experience of the justice

VIENNA –  The government in Montenegro should develop precise roadmaps in the EU accession talks and a clear framework for strengthening the rule of law,

VIENNA – Negative Bulgarian transition from postcommunism to post-democracy expressed in the transition from corruption to endemic corruption and state capture, it was said in

VIENNA – Croatian judiciary remained “stubbornly dependent, biased, unprofessional and inefficient” after the EU accession process. In 2013, joining the ranks of Bulgaria and Romania,

VIENNA – To avoid an institutional crisis and restore its internal and external credibility, the EU needs to foster Member States’ and candidate countries’ compliance

VIENNA – Common features in the Western Balkan countries are inconsistency in the law application, the absence of a solid regulatory framework equal for all,

VIENNA – Constant postponing of the reforms in Serbia in the area of the rule of law showed to be crucial for the poor results

VIENNA – Without transparency and deep consultations with stakeholders, some government measures for liberalisation and “more economic freedom” could have a negative impact on the

VIENNA – Hungary’s motivation in supporting the EU enlargement process is driven by national interests, but  its own stands on the rule of law, freedom of

LJUBLJANA – The process of enlargement of the European Union to the Western Balkans needs to be given new creative solutions, with an emphasis on

VIENNA – The Western Balkans is perhaps Slovenia’s most important strategic region. A next round of EU enlargement would therefore bring immense benefits to Slovenia in

VIENNA – Without substantial political and financial consequences from the EU towards the tendencies of democratic backsliding, the issue of democratic backsliding in the region

LJUBLJANA – “WB2EU network” is organising a second public debate “Is the EU losing the Western Balkans and/or vice versa?” about EU enlargement process on 14

Angela Merkel hat sich mit einer letzten Westbalkan-Konferenz, die unter deutscher Leitung am 5. Juli 2021 virtuell abgehalten wurde, von der Region verabschiedet. Die jährlich

VIENNA – There is no new momentum for the European future of the Western Balkan countries which for all these years have not moved much

Status quo is no longer providing stability in the Western Balkans. The EU should focus more on small victories in order to gain long-term goals, it

Democracies are under pressure, the rule of law in the Western Balkans and some EU countries has weakened and the current health and economic crises

A video message from Karoline Edtstadler, Federal Minister for EU and Constitution in Austria, on the current state of EU enlargement and the hope for