[Workshop] A legal assessment of (EU) integration in the Western Balkans

The Europa Institute (Leiden University) and the Asser Institute are organising a joint workshop entitled "A Legal Assessment of (EU) Integration in the Western Balkans". The workshop will explore regional integration processes in the Western Balkans against the backdrop of EU accession efforts. It will examine how various initiatives - including the Central European Free Trade Agreement, Berlin Process, and Common Regional Market - interact with the EU enlargement framework. Prof. Adam Lazowski (Professor at the Westminster Law School and European Neighbourhood Chair Coordinator & Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Natolin)) will deliver the keynote address.

The workshop will consist of three panels, addressing three key themes. The first panel will examine the functioning and effectiveness of Stabilisation and Association Agreements, as well as the EU’s enlargement policy. The second panel will focus on the critical issue of rule of law reforms, which falls under the cluster ‘Fundamentals’ and determines the pace of the overall negotiations under the new enlargement methodology introduced in 2020. Lastly, the third panel will zoom in on regional initiatives and other areas of reform that are play a role in the integration of Western Balkan countries to the EU.

While the EU membership perspective was officially extended to the Western Balkan countries more than two decades ago with the 2003 Thessaloniki Declaration, the process gained new momentum with the recent geopolitical shifts that came to the fore with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The President of the European Commission declared that enlargement will be a 'core priority' for the Commission in 2024-2029. Hence, the need to have a fresh look at where different Western Balkan countries stand individually and collectively in the path to regional and EU integration.

Read the full programme

This workshop is made possible by the Asser Institute, Europa Institute (Leiden Law School) and by the Leiden University Fund (LUF).