EU enlargement to the Western Balkans in the light of the war in Ukraine
EU enlargement to the Western Balkans in the light of the war in Ukraine

Author(s): Sava Mitrović
Subject(s): Security and defense, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies, Russian Aggression against Ukraine
Published by: Centar za evropske politike CEP
Keywords: EU enlargement; Western Balkans; war in Ukraine; EU integration; geopolitical shift; Serbia; enlargement policy; European Union; regional stability;
Summary/Abstract: The outbreak of the war in Ukraine has dramatically changed the geopolitical map of Europe. With aggression against the sovereign and independent European state, Russia has drawn a line and isolated itself from peaceful and free Europe. Former Soviet republics such as Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia rushed into the embrace of the European Union (EU), unwilling to remain behind Russia’s newly erected iron curtain. In the meantime, Western Balkan (WB) countries are continuing the European integration process, which is most clearly reflected in opening ac- cession talks with Albania and (conditionally) North Macedonia, as well as in granting candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Simultaneously, changed geopolitical circumstances brought their alignment with the EU Foreign and Security Policy to the top of the agenda. In such a context, tracking where the WB countries stand on their path to the EU gains further importance.

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