Democratic Backsliding in the Western Balkans: What Should the EU’s Role Be?

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel’s recent call for the EU to become more active and visible in the Western Balkans reflects a growing concern in Berlin and Brussels that the countries in our immediate neighborhood may get lost on their way toward accession. The developments of the last decade have indeed been worrying. Democratic standards and civil liberties have been backsliding or stagnating throughout the region. What instruments can the EU use to address these developments? Does it still have leverage over the region’s political elites? And how does Russia factor in?

Speakers:

Michael Kartnitschnig
Head of Commissioner Hahn’s Cabinet European Neighborhood Policy and 
Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission

Dr. Christian Hellbach
Special Envoy for South-Eastern Europe, Turkey, 
and the EFTA States, German Federal Foreign Office

Inputs:

Magdalena Lembovska
Research Fellow, Analytica, Macedonia

Bogdan Urošević
Program Coordinator, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, Serbia

Chair:

Sarah Wohlfeld
Program Officer, Alfred von Oppenheim Center

This Brussels Briefing is organized by the DGAP’s Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies and will be held in English.