The Western University of Timișoara invites you to a relevant political debate on "Connecting the dots: the expectations of the Western Balkans from neighboring EU member states for EU integration".

The event will bring together a group of high-profile experts from across the region, such as HE Mr. Adrian Davidoiu (special representative for the Western Balkans of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Jovana Marovic (member of BiEPAG, former deputy prime minister and minister of European affairs of the government of Montenegro), Srdjan Cvijic (member of BiEPAG, president of the International Advisory Committee of the Center for Security Policy from Belgrade – BCSP, Serbia), Donjet Gjoka (Advisor to the Minister of State and Chief Negotiator, Albanian Government, Albania) and Silviu Rogobete (Professor, West University of Timișoara, Romania).

moderator:

Miruna Butnaru Troncota, associate professor, National University of Political Sciences and Public Administration.

The format of the discussion will include 15-minute keynotes for each speaker and a final question-and-answer session.

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After many years of stagnation, the EU enlargement process experienced a significant revival in 2023. In the context of the war in Ukraine, there are several voices proposing an accelerated EU integration process for the Western Balkans in this tense geopolitical reconfiguration. Romania is one of the countries that has demonstrated continuous support for the Western Balkans. But we believe that there is still room for more concrete steps and policy-making potential to use the concrete support of all neighboring member states and lobby in the EU to advance the European integration process of the Western Balkans for 2024 – a very important year which will bring a reshuffle of power in Brussels after the European elections. European Council President Charles Michael recently called for the EU to be ready for new accessions by 2030. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a major EU institutional reform to prepare for further enlargement.

In addition, enlargement featured as an important topic in Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's last State of the Union address in September 2023. We believe it is an opportune time to examine the future of EU enlargement from the perspective of experts from the Western Balkans. The discussion will focus on assessing the progress made by candidate states to date and the extent to which renewed enlargement efforts are likely to produce significant reforms in 2024, given the tense events that have marked the region recently.

Event organized by the INK Association – Innovation Needs Knowledge & European Studies Center SNSPA, in collaboration with the University of West Timișoara, with the financial support of the European Fund for the Balkans, through the beeEFB program.