Western Balkans in a changing geopolitical order — enlargement and integration back in focus

The debate over the Western Balkans' place in a shifting global order returned to the spotlight at a public forum held today, where scholars warned that enlargement and integration with the European Union face new geopolitical constraints.

Experts point to wider global forces, not only EU institutions

Ioannis Armakolas, professor at the University of Macedonia (Greece), told the audience that Europe can no longer be viewed through the prism of the 1990s and that the continent is entering a different era shaped by broader global competition.

Armakolas said: "Europe has problems, there isn't so much progress, the political picture is complicated and it is economically vulnerable. There are various non-papers and similar, reforms, especially economic. It's good that ways are being sought. I'm not talking about complicated things for entering the EU, but whether we have the political moment in Europe. We are good at talking, but not at doing things. Because of this situation I think there will be frustrations, as there were frustrations from Macedonia. I would like to live in Europe and the USA, but now the rules are beginning somehow to be shaped by the USA and China."

Aleksandar Spasov from the Faculty of Law "Justinijan Prvi" recalled earlier expectations that Europe was entering a new phase and said political turns in the EU have a direct impact on the Western Balkans.

Spasov warned that hopes created in 2017 were disrupted by subsequent developments and singled out the 2019 French veto as a key turning point. He said: "In 2017 there was an assessment that a new era in Europe was beginning. We all hoped for better and a geopolitical process began. It began in 2019 when the French veto happened. Everyone said this would be temporary, everyone would talk with Macron, but we saw that this is not temporary. We saw that there was not just one issue, but a broader geopolitical context."

Despite the uncertainties, Spasov emphasised that European integration remains the ultimate objective: "In the end there is no other option except integration. We hope that a way will be found to open the path," he added.

Photo: press material from the event