Activities
Six Graduate Seminars on Western Balkan countries EU integration (one for each country), involving policymakers, civil society representatives and scholars (videotaped and live streamed).
Dr. Sokol Dedja provided the audience with a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding the Albanian path toward the European Union. Dr. Dedja focused on the transformative power of the EU accession criteria through the impetus for political and economic developments. However, the guest speaker revealed that there is a wave of skepticism from the EU’s side accompanying this transformative effect that has pushed for a more demanding and technical accession process for the country. In addition, Dr. Dedja discussed about the cost of EU integration focusing on economic challenges and consequences that might come with the need to compete in a common European market. The expert concluded by implying that ahead there is a journey of overcoming challenges for Albania.
Dr. Milosavljevic engaged in discussion with participant graduate students on EU’s enlargement policy, its approach to Western Balkans region, and the reasons and consequences behind the package approach followed in the accession process of Albania and North Macedonia recently.
Also, Dr. Milosavljevic offered an overview of Serbia’s EU integration steps pointing out the issues and challenges in each step. Domestic challenges related to democratic values, Serbia’s alignment with CFSP of the EU, rising Euroscepticism in Serbia, and the normalization of relations with Kosovo currently dominate the EU integration agenda for Serbia. The normalization of relations with Kosovo appears as the most important factor in this process and has even overshadowed improvements and the need for domestic reforms according to Dr. Milosavljevic.
Assoc. Prof. Islam Jusufi discussed the democratization challenges of three Western Balkans countries such as Albania, Kosovo and Serbia, throughout their EU integration process focusing on democratization and de-democratization trends and dynamics. He elaborated on the role of Western and non-Western donors in the region in countries’ de/democratization trajectories.
