
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, by 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, by 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, by 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, by 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, by 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, by 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: Weak rule of law in the Western Balkans affects the quality of FDI, by 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, by 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, by 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 (Gastkommentar von Vedran Džihić, 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, by 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

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-Pandemie hinterlässt auch in den Ländern des Westbalkans tiefe Spuren. Sie verschärft deren Probleme und entlarvt institutionelle Schwächen, insbesondere im Gesundheitswesen und in der

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