The Policy Brief analyses the symbolic battles between elites and citizens for framing and dominating political crises. Four crises are examined, compared, and mapped along

When the 2015 refugee crisis broke out, civil societies in Greece and North Macedonia were featuring similar structural weaknesses, such as a lack of professionalism

The Policy Brief addresses the situation of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Hungary and Serbia by analysing the data provided by the Civil Society Organization

Digitalisation is playing an important role in our everyday lives. It has become embedded in every aspect of our lives. The digital transformation has reshaped

This Policy Brief explores the concept of „democratisation from below“ as a bottom-up approach to democracy, emphasising the active role of citizens and civil society

Environmental issues in the Western Balkans are at the centre of civic mobilisation against the negative effects of various types of pollution. In addition, during

More than 4 million Romanians have emigrated during the 30+ years since the 1989 Revolution. They send back remittances, and when they return, they bring

Kosovo has a unique demographic and a window of opportunity for capitalising on it, which will be closed sooner than expected if no action is

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a new ambitious benchmark that the United Nations has adopted to scientifically assess the advancement made by single countries

This Policy Brief claims that the socio-economic policy of the European Union (EU) towards the Western Balkans is not sustainable. Labour migration from the region

Today, the Western Balkan region suffers from a situation of fragmentation characterised by high unemployment rates especially among youth, brain drain, high migration rates, low

For years, one of the key objections of the European Commission in its annual reports on Montenegro has been the failure to hold local elections

The policies of the European Union (EU) regarding the enlargement process focus not only on the political elite but also try to create bottom-up processes

Since 2019, North Macedonia has been trying to digitalise its public services and install digital wallets in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the

Over the last three decades, Croatia has been steadily losing its population. The 2021 national census results show that Croatia has a population of 3,871,833

In October 2021 at the EU–Western Balkans Summit held during Slovenian presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), the Green Agenda Action Plan

Gender inequality exists today in all societies around the world, and it is rooted in the social structure and the traditional division of labour. It

In July 2018, the European Commission confirmed that Kosovo had met the two outstanding requirements, thus fulfilling all benchmarks set out in the visa liberalisation

The last census in Bulgaria shows that population has shrunk by 11.5% in a decade. Low birth rate, high death rate and migration are the

Every cultural policy that is led by democratic principles implies, creates and implements cultural actions, which aim to provide the fulfilment of cultural needs and

Environmental degradation is an alarming problem in the Western Balkans. Air pollution was the fourth greatest risk factor for human health globally in 2019. The

In its Analytical Report from 2019 and consequent Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) 2020, the European Commission has pointed that judiciary in BiH, in

Starting just after the war and for more than 20 years now, Kosovo has had international community as the strongest provider of support to strengthen

Romania’s experience is that of the most intensive push for rule of law and anti-corruption among new European Union (EU) members, given that the country

For the next six months France holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. One of the top priorities on its agenda will

Judiciary and rule of law, more specifically, is a core element for the accession negotiations with the European Union (EU). In this regard, since 2014

Although it has been negotiating EU membership for more than nine years and thus carrying out certain activities to strengthen the rule of law under

The Policy Brief argues that Bulgaria is experiencing a negative transformation, a transition from post-communism to post-democracy expressed in the transition from corruption to endemic

Every accession into political alliance is a matter of political negotiations. During the accession process Croatia advanced but did not completely execute a judicial reform

The respect of the rule of law is central to the functioning of democracies within the European institutional settings and has become even more relevant

The rule of law is positively correlated to the attainment of economic growth and sustainable development and to the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment. However,

In the past months, the government of North Macedonia has pushed for three policies providing for different forms of liberalisation and legalisation, all with potentially

Already from around 2007 onwards the European Union’s (EU) enlargement process entered a severe crisis and attempts to overcome the deadlock have failed so far.

Serbia in the year 2021 is a captured state with institutions completely under control of one party. With the ruling elites involved in serious cases

Within the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union several priorities are relevant from the perspective of the EU’s Western Balkans strategy. The

Seventeen years after the big round of enlargement of the European Union and with the Conference on the Future of Europe up and running, the