Make-or-break moment: EU enlargement in southeast Europe in pandemic times

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in close coolaboration with former Minister for Europa and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ditmir Bushati have conducted the analysis, “Make-or-break moment: EU enlargement in southeast Europe in pandemic times”. The policy paper offers analysis and policy recommendations to political actors in the EU and SEE6 on current reframing of the European Union ́s enlargement policy towards the region. Integrating the SEE6 into the EU would be a step towards achieving the EU's finalité. Ultimately, it would imply that the project of European integration has consolidated into a concrete political space with a precise boundary on a continental scale. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic could be, for good or bad, a turning point in the relations between the EU and enlargement countries in the Western Balkans. However, there is also a risk that things will come to a halt as nervous EU leaders struggle to find answers for the future of the EU.