EU Enlargement in New Geopolitical Circumstances: How to Use the New impetus?

Описание: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has once again demonstrated the importance of the Western Balkans for the EU’s own security and its capacity to act as a geopolitical player.
Leaving the region in an enlargement limbo and thus open to various external as well as internal undemocratic influences tarnishes the EU’s own “geopolitical” image and threatens the stability of the continent as a whole.

This understanding has led to almost unprecedented support for the enlargement process coming from the EU and its member states, as well as opened a much-needed debate about what needs to be done to improve it.

Will the new geopolitical circumstances indeed speed up EU enlargement in the Western Balkans?
Is there now a genuine political will among the EU and its member states to finish the process launched in Thessaloniki almost 20 years ago?
What should be done to make the process more efficient and successful?
Is staged accession one of the ways to get out of the existing deadlock and push the Western Balkan countries forward?

Panelists:
• Luka Steric, Researcher, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy
• Klemen Grošelj, Member of the European Parliament
• Ivet Szepesi, Coordinator European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policy at Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Srdjan Majstorovic, Chairman, European Policy Centre – CEP
Moderator: Nikola Burazer, Executive Editor, European Western Balkans