
Policy Brief: Protest parties in Bulgaria should learn to govern and translate citizens’ expectations into policies (EWB), 8 August 2023
VIENNA – New parties with reformist ambitions, such as We Continue the Change, should seek European legitimization by joining European political families, recommends Policy Brief “Citizens vs.

Policy Brief: Despite positive steps, capacity and resilience challenges in Greek and Macedonian CSOs remain (EWB), 31 July 2023
VIENNA – The 2015 refugee crisis led to the reinvigoration of civic activism in Greece and North Macedonia. However, while CSOs in both countries benefited

Policy Brief: The marginalization of CSOs leads to an exclusive form of democracy (EWB), 21 July 2023
VIENNA – The EU should use its new momentum and extend its future comprehensive civil society strategy and the European Civil Space Index to the

Policy Brief: Digitalization should remain a high priority in the Western Balkans (EWB), 19 July 2023
VIENNA – The countries of the Western Balkan need to be convinced that digitalization must remain high on their agenda and given full attention, it

Policy Brief: Activities of civil society can lead to successful bottom-up democratization (EWB), 18 July 2023
VIENNA – New Policy Brief “Civil society: a driver for democratisation from below in Serbia“, published within the “WB2EU“ Network, presents the ways in which

Policy Brief: Civil society and the EU can contribute to environmental democracy in the Western Balkans (EWB), 11 July 2023
VIENNA – Environmental issues in Western Balkan countries have become topical, particularly in recent years, with a significant increase in the number of NGOs active

Die EU-Migrationspolitik braucht Fakten statt Emotionen, Gastkommentar von Martin Selmayr & Paul Schmidt, Wiener Zeitung, 12.05.2023
Wäre das Interesse an einer gemeinsamen Lösung ebenso groß wie an dem Problem, dann wären wir schon einen großen Schritt weiter. Angesichts so mancher

Policy Brief: More focus on social and educational policy in Romania is needed (EWB), 10 May 2023
VIENNA – There is a great issue regarding the lack of data on emigration in Romania which is a widespread phenomenon with both positive and negative

Policy Brief: Youth in Kosovo demonstrate a clear willingness to become active citizens (EWB), 9 May 2023
VIENNA – Kosovo has a unique demographic and a window opportunity for capitalizing on it, which will be closed sooner than expected if no action

Policy Brief: Transnational cooperation is needed to advance Sustainable Development Goals in the Western Balkans (EWB), 7 April 2023
VIENNA – The Western Balkan countries share similar environmental, economic, and social constraints when faced with the challenge of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which

Policy Brief: The socio-economic policies of EU towards Western Balkans should be more sustainable (EWB), 15 March 2023
VIENNA – The socio-economic policy of the EU member states towards the Western Balkans is not long-term oriented, thus policy shifts should be made in

Policy Brief: Youth from the region should be more included in sectoral policy-making processes, European Western Balkans (EWB), 3 March 2023
VIENNA – There is a high need for increasing youth participation in sectoral policy-making and establishing more inclusive, youth-friendly policies, it is concluded in the

Die EU-Erweiterung – ein geopolitischer Imperativ, Gastkommentar von Martin Selmayr & Paul Schmidt, Wiener Zeitung, 03.03.2023
Die Aufnahme in die EU bringt wie eine Ehe zahlreiche gegenseitige Rechte und Pflichten. Je anspruchsvoller der Berg, desto wichtiger sind die richtige Teamgröße sowie

Policy Brief: The sustainability of Montenegrin local self-governments is in question, European Western Balkans (EWB), 20 January 2023
VIENNA – In order to ensure the proper functioning of local self-governments as a governing system established on principles of direct and local democracy, it

Policy Brief: Youth cooperation between EU and WB to go beyond economy and culture, European Western Balkans (EWB), 21 December 2022
VIENNA — Young people in the Western Balkans and the EU should be made aware of all possibilities for cooperation and reconciliation programs by relevant

Gastkommentar „Die EUtopie ist möglich!“ von Alice & Larissa Lojić im Namen des WB2EU-Netzwerks, Wiener Zeitung, 14.12.2022
Die aktuellen Entwicklungen bergen neben Gefahren für das europäische Projekt auch Chancen. „Europa wird in Krisen geschmiedet werden, und es wird die Summe der zur

Policy Brief: Digital Europeanisation in North Macedonia slowly moving forward, European Western Balkans (EWB), 7 December 2022
VIENNA – Macedonian society is still very’ paper based’, and citizens hold strongly trust the paper rather than clicks. This is a reason why more

Policy Brief: Croatia needs to address root causes of its demographic decline, European Western Balkans (EWB), 1 December 2022
VIENNA — In order to effectively address the issue of demographic decline, Croatia needs to adopt a sustainable and comprehensive policy approach focusing on the

Policy Brief: Civil society is necessary for progress on the WB Green Agenda, European Western Balkans (EWB), 28 November 2022
VIENNA — To secure effective implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, the European Union should include environmental civil society organizations (ECSOs) from

Policy Brief: Systematic gender inequality deeply present in Serbia, European Western Balkans (EWB), 17 November 2022
VIENNA – Discrimination against women in the labour market is a common occurrence and one of the primary causes of women’s unequal status in Serbia,

Policy Brief: Visa liberalization for Kosovo should be resolved with urgency, European Western Balkans (EWB), 15 November 2022
VIENNA — Visa liberalization for Kosovo, which is still on halt even though the government in Priština fulfilled the benchmarks back in 2018, should be

Op-ed: Yes, EUtopia is possible! By the WB2EU network’s Next Generation Summer School participants, European Western Balkans (EWB), 9 November 2022
“Europe will be forged in crisis, and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises”, Jean Monnet, founding father of the European

Joint op-ed: WB2EU Network NextGeneration, Summer School in Cres, 5 -9 September 2022
“Europe will be forged in crisis, and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises”, Jean Monnet, founding father of the European

Policy Brief: BiH needs a common and sustainable cultural policy (EWB), 9 November 2022
VIENNA — Bearing in mind the potential of culture for emancipation, reconciliation and integration, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to create a cultural policy that would

Policy Brief: Migration discourse in Bulgaria is usually focused on its negative aspects, European Western Balkans (EWB), 8 November 2022
VIENNA — Returning migration has been strategically identified as one of the most efficient solutions for the problem of depopulation Bulgaria faces, however a lot

Policy Brief: Environmental degradation is an alarming problem in the Western Balkans, European Western Balkans (EWB), 7 November 2022
VIENNA – In the Western Balkans the socio-economic cost of air pollution due to dirty energy production is significant, it was concluded in the Policy

The Russia-Ukraine war must be the impetus for a new EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy, Op-ed by Vedran Džihić & Paul Schmidt, LSE EUROPP, 24 May 2022
EU enlargement has stalled since the accession of Croatia in 2013. Vedran Džihić and Paul Schmidt argue that following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is

Ukraine War is Europe’s Wake-up Call to Revive Enlargement, Op-ed by Vedran Džihić & Paul Schmidt, Balkan Insight, 20 May 2022
The EU must use this moment of exceptional crisis to radically re-evaluate its neighbourhood policy and jump-start its stagnant enlargement process. On 24 February, Europe

Joint op-ed on behalf of the WB2EU Network, Project Phase II, Social Dimension: Courage for a new EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy, 17 May 2022
On 24 February, Europe woke up in a new reality. The course of the war and the propaganda by the Kremlin show the extent of

Europa darf das neue Momentum nicht verschlafen, Gastkommentar Paul Schmidt & Vedran Džihić, Wiener Zeitung, 17. Mai 2022
Es ist kein guter Moment für politische Schlafwandler, sondern höchste Zeit, dem europäischen Integrationsprojekt in all seinen Facetten zentrale Priorität einzuräumen. Am 24. Februar ist

Policy Brief: Pressures on judges and prosecutors in BiH decrease trust in the judiciary, European Western Balkans (EWB), 17 March 2022
VIENNA – Considering the cumulative impact of a number of dominantly political factors that influence the judiciary, coupled with the internal mechanisms of undue influence,

Policy Brief: Rule of law in Kosovo has many loops that need to be straightened, European Western Balkans (EWB), 11 March 2022
VIENNA – Strengthening the administration of judiciary should be given more attention and be considered as a crucial part of rule of law reforms, as

Policy Brief: Romania’s enlargement experience shows “how to” and “how not to” build rule of law, by European Western Balkans (EWB), 10 March 2022
VIENNA – Romanian society over the past two decades shows that strategic EU orientation at the political level can well be an opportunistic choice, whose

Policy Brief: The lack of security on the continent driving force for Eurosceptic, European Western Balkans (EWB), 21 February 2022
VIENNA – Structural and operational cooperation between EU member states, candidate countries and potential candidate countries is the best solution to fight against Europhobic discourse,

Policy Brief: The lessons of the justice reform in Albania can be applied to other WB countries, by European Western Balkans (EWB), 28 December 2021
VIENNA – Judicial reform in Albania represents a case study to understand EU membership-driven reform processes in the Western Balkans. The experience of the justice

Policy Brief: Government in Montenegro should fully open the reforms to the public, European Western Balkans (EWB), 23 December 2021
VIENNA – The government in Montenegro should develop precise roadmaps in the EU accession talks and a clear framework for strengthening the rule of law,

Policy Brief: The fight against corruption in Bulgaria should result with convictions in high-level corruption cases, European Western Balkans (EWB), 10 December 2021
VIENNA – Negative Bulgarian transition from postcommunism to post-democracy expressed in the transition from corruption to endemic corruption and state capture, it was said in

Policy Brief: State of Croatian judiciary sheds light on the shortcomings of EU accession, European Western Balkans (EWB), 6 December 2021
VIENNA – Croatian judiciary remained “stubbornly dependent, biased, unprofessional and inefficient” after the EU accession process. In 2013, joining the ranks of Bulgaria and Romania,

Policy Brief: The EU should continue to insist on Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation, European Western Balkans (EWB), 2 December 2021
VIENNA – To avoid an institutional crisis and restore its internal and external credibility, the EU needs to foster Member States’ and candidate countries’ compliance

Policy Brief: Weak rule of law in the Western Balkans affects the quality of FDI, European Western Balkans (EWB), 22 November 2021
VIENNA – Common features in the Western Balkan countries are inconsistency in the law application, the absence of a solid regulatory framework equal for all,

Policy Brief: EU still has some mechanisms which could influence rule of law in Serbia, by European Western Balkans (EWB), 19 November 2021
VIENNA – Constant postponing of the reforms in Serbia in the area of the rule of law showed to be crucial for the poor results

Policy Brief: Deregulation initiatives in North Macedonia could have a negative impact on the rule of law, European Western Balkans (EWB), 9 November 2021
VIENNA – Without transparency and deep consultations with stakeholders, some government measures for liberalisation and “more economic freedom” could have a negative impact on the

Policy brief: Hungary should not be the role model for the Western Balkans, European Western Balkans (EWB), 1 November 2021
VIENNA – Hungary’s motivation in supporting the EU enlargement process is driven by national interests, but its own stands on the rule of law, freedom of

Streit in der Union: Das Spiel mit der Demokratie, Vedran Džihić / Kommentar der anderen, Der Standard, 22. Okotober 2021
Ob in Polen oder auf dem Westbalkan, die EU tut sich mit ihrem Pragmatismus schwer, Autokraten in die Schranken zu weisen Der Streit zwischen Polen

It is in Slovenia’s interest to promote geopolitical importance of the Western Balkans, by European Western Balkans (EWB), 13 October 2021
VIENNA – The Western Balkans is perhaps Slovenia’s most important strategic region. A next round of EU enlargement would therefore bring immense benefits to Slovenia in

Policy brief: Lack of progress on rule of law will render the enlargement a dead end, European Western Balkans (EWB), 12 October 2021
VIENNA – Without substantial political and financial consequences from the EU towards the tendencies of democratic backsliding, the issue of democratic backsliding in the region

Gefährliche Fantasien auf dem Westbalkan, Gastkommentar Vedran Džihić & Paul Schmidt, Die Presse, 28. Juli 2021
Spiel mit dem Feuer. Die Debatte um die europäische Zukunft des Westbalkans droht in eine falsche Richtung abzugleiten. Während die EU in der von ihr

Non-Papers and the Elephant in the Room: Rule of Law in the Western Balkans, Op-ed by Jovana Marović & Nikolaos Tzifakis, European Western Balkans (EWB), 23 July 2021
While the European Union has initiated a yearlong Conference on the Future of Europe that gives the floor to its citizens to debate contemporary challenges

Joint op-ed on behalf of the WB2EU Network, Project Phase I, Rule of Law & Justice: Non-Papers and the Elephant in the Room: Rule of Law in the Western Balkans, 23 July 2021
While the European Union has initiated a yearlong Conference on the Future of Europe that gives the floor to its citizens to debate contemporary challenges

Gefährliche Grenzerfahrungen für den Balkan und die EU, Gastkommentar Vedran Džihić & Paul Schmidt, Wiener Zeitung, 19. Mai 2021
Die Idee der ethnischen Neuaufteilung der Region, für die keiner die Autorenschaft übernehmen möchte, steht plötzlich wieder auf der Agenda. In den kommenden Wochen wird

Vaccine diplomacy and enlargement fatigue: Why the EU must rethink its approach to the Western Balkans, Op-ed by Vedran Džihić & Paul Schmidt, LSE EUROPP Blog, 28 April 2021
The EU’s stalled enlargement process and the Covid-19 pandemic are reshaping the politics of the Western Balkans, write Paul Schmidt and Vedran Dzihic. Faced with

Der Westbalkan braucht eine neue Chance. Ein Weckruf für Europa! Paul Schmidt & Vedran Džihić, EURACTIV, 26 March 2021
Die Corona-Pandemie hinterlässt auch in den Ländern des Westbalkans tiefe Spuren. Sie verschärft ihre Probleme und entlarvt institutionelle Schwächen, insbesondere im Gesundheitswesen und in der

Western Balkans’ Plight is Wake-up Call for Europe, Op-ed by Vedran Džihić & Paul Schmidt, Balkan Insight, 23 March 2021
In societies devastated by the pandemic, the EU needs to leave its conventional tool-box behind and urgently speed up the Europeanisation of its neighbours in

EU-Erweiterung: Der Westbalkan braucht eine neue Chance, Gastkommentar Paul Schmidt & Vedran Džihić, Der Standard, 22. März 2021
Die Corona-Krise zeigt, wie wichtig die Stärkung der Rechtsstaatlichkeit und der Demokratien in der Region ist. Die EU muss hier Perspektivenbieten Es ist an der

Joint op-ed on behalf of the WB2EU Network, Project Kick_Off Conferece: The Western Balkans in need for change. A wake-up call for Europe!
The coronavirus pandemic deepens vulnerabilities of the Western Balkan countries and exposes the weakness of state institutions in the region, especially in the health sector

Zwischen Autoritarismus und Gleichgültigkeit (Gastkommentar Jovana Marović, Wiener Zeitung, 20. März 2021)
Trotz einiger großer Veränderungen in der politischen Landschaft der Westbalkanstaaten, die insbesondere an den Wahlurnen erreicht wurden, sind die Aussichten auf eine Demokratisierung der Region