What is Progressive? The EU and the challenge of enlargement to the Western Balkans

Closed-door online expert seminar, Friday, 6 November 2020 (15:00 - 16:30 CEST)

The Foundation for European Progressive Studies, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Italy and the Fondation Jean Jaurès have joined forces to organise, in cooperation with the German Italian Centre for Excellence Villa Vigoni, an international online expert seminar on the question of the Western Balkan countries’ future EU membership and on the issues linked to it, including the challenges that both the EU and the candidate members still have to face (the commitment to democracy; the strengthening of the national institutional frameworks and economies; the still unsolved ethnic and border issues; the increasing influence of third actor and the emerging appealing of models other than the European one; etc.). This is a critical time for EU institutions and the process of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans. Consequently, the agenda will also focus on the Conference on the Future of Europe and whether there is momentum to integrate the topic of enlargement.

At a critical time for the EU, the overall objective of this conference is to promote an important and timely debate on the policy pathways through which Europe can shape enlargement towards the Western Balkans in a more progressive way.