Western Balkan countries in the context of the EU enlargement strategy
A research-to-action project, focusing on strengthening Western Balkan countries’ economic and social integration with the EU.
Bruegel’s Western Balkans programme covers two strategic aspects contributing to the goal of more economic integration with the European Union. 1) Early participation of Western Balkan countries in the European Semester, and 2) Comparison of two association agreements the EU has with the candidate countries - ‘Stabilisation and association agreements’ (SAAs) with Western Balkans and “comprehensive free trade agreements” (DCFTAs) with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
The central objective of the research project is to identify ‘best-practices’ and concrete solutions that could enhance Western Balkans integration with the EU.
Featured content
The rocky road to EU accession for Western Balkan countries: obstacles and lessons from the Eastern Partnership
The three eastern European states had practically no waiting time before being accepted as candidate countries right after application
The benefits of bringing the Western Balkans into the European Semester
Integrating the Western Balkan countries into the European Union’s European Semester process is both feasible and desirable.
How should Western Balkan countries seize the opportunity of the EU’s new growth plan
At this event we focused on the EU's proposed growth plan for the Western Balkans
