A collection of 15 posts
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has claimed victory in Albania’s parliamentary election on Sunday, 11 May, after exit polls showed his Socialist Party (PS) with a clear lead. The vote, which has been characterised as ballot on Albania’s commitment to EU accession, was marked by low turnout and
The Munich Security Conference ended on a cautiously positive note for EU candidate countries Albania and Montenegro on Sunday, 16 February. After a tumultuous 3 days, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos namechecked Albania and Montenegro as “front-runners” for EU accession during a roundtable discussion, adding that their negotiations could be
The European Commission (EC) analyses the accession prospects of all ten prospective members of the EU in a new set of reports on how the countries measure up to the criteria for governance, judicial independence and democratic standards required to join the bloc. The EC publishes an annual detailing of
The foreign ministers of Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia have published a joint article calling for “several concrete steps to be taken without further delay” regarding the expansion of the EU, including the commencement of accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) by the end of the year. In the joint
The EU’s two top institutions seemed to be suffering from a lack of agreement – and even consultation – over enlargement last week as European Council President Charles Michel proposed a 2030 target for the EU for candidate countries in southern-eastern Europe. “Enlargement is no longer a dream… it is time
Bosnia and Herzegovina became an official candidate for EU membership in Brussels on Thursday, as the European Council approved the recommendation made by the European Commission in October, and then voted through by the EU Council and General Affairs Council this week. The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell called
As a kilometres-long convoy of Russian forces approached the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the country’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, gave a powerful video address to members of the European Parliament on Tuesday. Pleading for Brussels to show which side it was on, he said, “Do prove that you are with us.
Serbia moved a small step closer to EU membership on Sunday when 60.5% of its voters cast their ballot in favour of changes to the judicial system in a referendum. President Aleksandar Vucic said the result represented “de facto progress on the rule of law, a theme which is
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said in no uncertain terms that her country will pursue EU accession ahead of today’s Eastern Partnership summit. “We will insist that it is our choice and we would like other countries to respect that choice,” Sandu told Reuters. Moscow is fully aware of this
Dimitar Kovachevski is set to become North Macedonia’s next prime minister after the ruling SDSM party voted him as its new leader on Sunday. The 47-year old economist and deputy finance minister defeated two other contenders for the post. Kovachevski will soon also replace his ally Zoran Zaev as
The heads of governments of the three Eastern Partnership countries at the front of the queue for EU membership are jointly urging a speeding up of the integration process. The visits of officials from Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine precedes the regular EU-Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit scheduled for 15 December 2021
Albania and North Macedonia are on the march towards EU accession talks, according to the latest annual European Commission (EC) progress report that assesses the membership chances of those two Western Balkan countries as well as Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are collectively known as the WB6.
EU leaders reaffirmed their commitment for six Western Balkan countries to join the Union, but held off opening full negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia at a one-day EU Summit in the Slovenian city of Brdo. “The Western Balkans are part of the same Europe as the European Union. The
With hopes of Bulgaria lifting its veto on North Macedonia’s potential bid to join the European Union, today Bulgaria’s president, Rumen Radev, will get a chance to meet with the prime minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, at a high-level gathering in Slovenia including Chancellor Angela Merkel and
The Balkan countries are important for Germany – that’s seemingly the reason why German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who’s set to step down from her post following elections this autumn, is taking an extensive “farewell tour,” meeting with leaders from six Balkan states – some of them EU aspirants – in the