The Map of the Western Balkans overlayed with the flag of the European Union with a question mark in the center.
The EU and the Western Balkans - Is It A Complete Impasse (Cover Image by BTFold Media)
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The EU and the Western Balkans: Is It A Complete Impasse?

István VassBy

The war in Ukraine has brought forward a lot of thinking about the enlargement of different international organizations and alliances, formal and informal. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has campaigned intensively for the hasty acceptance into the EU of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia which met the disdain of states in the Western Balkans, having waited long for full accession.

In this article we argue that even though some states in the Western Balkans have signaled willingness to adapt to the acquis, no tangible reward or roadmap has been given and while some intermittent political solutions seem to emerge, the European Union - while being overtly supportive of Ukraine and focusing on the Eastern European region - should stay alert in the South as well because Russia and China have also recognized this area having the potential to extend their political influence through.

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István Vass
István Vass is a Hungarian foreign policy journalist. Graduated in European and International Administration, he spent his traineeship at the Hungarian Permanent Representation in Brussels and then went on to work in various ministries inside the Hungarian public administration. His articles have been published in various online and print outlets in Hungary. In his writing he focuses on the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy and the post-soviet region.

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