Archive
   

EDITORIAL BOARD

INTERNATIONAL BOARD

   

The BJIEP Editorial Board is committed to open science and free access to scientific publications.

The published texts express their authors’ personal views and opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Editorial board.

All the texts published in BJIEP:

  • have been checked for coincidences with PlagScan
  • have undergone a double-blind peer-review process with at least two anonymous reviewers.

Prepress and print: UNWE Publishing Complex

 

ISSN (print): 2815-2751

ISSN (online): 2815-2875

2 issues per year

Contact information: 1700 Sofia, Studentski Grad Hristo Botev, blvd. 8-mi dekemvri 18, UNWE, office 2016

e-mail: [email protected] 

EXPERT’S INSIGHTS The Western Balkans in the Mirror of the EU’s and Geopolitical Challenges

Abstract

Western Balkans (WB) encompass six countries: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo, Montenegro (MNE), Albania and North Macedonia (WB6). Given the importance of the Balkans for the European Union (EU), particularly in the light of recent geopolitical developments, the importance of the Ukraine war looms into importance and turns into watershed for WB-EU relations. The focus is therefore on the impact of the Ukraine war, but also that of the European Parliament’s (EP) elections on the WB-EU relationship. The analysis of these relations extends into a modest forecast for future developments outlining two possible scenarios depending on the development of the EU itself: a renewed and strong EU with a focus on integration or continued stagnation and growing nationalism with increase of centrifugal tendencies. The EU has the chance and the key opportunity to bring a positive change in the Western Balkans through strategic decisions and cooperation, thereby securing its own stability and prosperity. This is a shared European interest, and failure to act could turn the Balkans from a “white spot” on the political map into a “black hole.”

Keywords

EU, Western Balkans, war in Ukraine, EU enlargement, EP elections
Download bjiep.2024.2.08.pdf