Since the late 1990s, the countries of the Western Balkans have been firmly on track to full Euro-Atlantic integration. However, progress has been slower than many had hoped for, with six countries still remaining outside the EU and four yet to join NATO.
The Berlin Process, an initiative launched in 2014, was aimed at maintaining the reform momentum in the region and includes a number of EU member states and the countries of the Western Balkans.
With the fifth summit of the Berlin Process being hosted by the United Kingdom on 10 July 2018, what progress has been achieved so far? Has it provided a useful framework for increased engagement with the region?
In recent years, a number of other actors have also become active players in the Western Balkans. With Russia, China, Turkey and the US all showing interest in the region, what are the geopolitical implications of this increased interest? Could these countries be effective partners for the EU in promoting needed reforms in the region or do they act as spoilers?
On the day of the summit, Chatham House brings together a group of local and regional experts to discuss these and other questions in the context of a wider conversation about the future of the region.
This event is run in partnership with the European Fund for the Balkans and the European Commission.
Participants
Nikola Dimitrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Macedonia
Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations
Baroness Catherine Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, Senior Adviser, Chatham House; Chair, Global Europe Program, Woodrow Wilson Center; High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (2009-14); First Vice President of the European Commission (2010-14)
Christian Danielsson, Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission
Zoran Nechev, Head, Center for EU Integration, Institute for Democracy ‘Societas Civilis’, Skopje
Srdjan Majstorovic, President, Governing Board, European Policy Center (CEP), Belgrade
Milica Delevic, Director of Governance and Political Affairs, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Professor Richard Whitman, Associate Fellow, Europe Programme, Chatham House
Tena Prelec, Research Associate, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science
Angelina Eichhorst, Deputy Managing Director, Europe and Central Asia; Director, Western Europe, Western Balkans and Turkey, European External Action Service
Nikola Burazer, Executive Editor, European Western Balkans
Florian Bieber, Professor of Southeast European Studies, University of Graz
Vessela Tcherneva, Deputy Director, ECFR
