France and the Western Balkans’ EU membership

At the approaching European Council meeting, scheduled for the 25^th and 26^th of March, the question of the Western Balkans’ EU integration process is expected to once again take a back seat to the more urgent subjects, such as health crisis and vaccination delays. A seemingly endless path towards the Union membership has become even more dubious in recent years, especially after October 2019 when some EU member states blocked the opening of the EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. The voice of the official Paris was among the strongest in denying the two countries from moving forward with their membership bids, and President Macron has unequivocally rejected the idea of the EU enlargement in the foreseeable future. With France due to hold the presidency of the European Council in the first half of 2022, and with both the Presidential and Parliamentary elections scheduled for next year the upcoming months may be the pivotal moment to revisit and reconstruct the French role in the EU integration process of the Western Balkans.

During this event two joint sessions will be organized. Topic of the first one will be French view about the Western Balkans’ place in the EU. The second one will offer regional view about the role of France on the Western Balkans’ European path.

Register HERE for the event.

Agenda of the event

Welcoming remarks:

• Igor Bandovic, Director of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy
• His Excellency Jean-Louis Falconi, the Ambassador of France to Serbia

First session: French view – is there a place for the Western Balkans in the European Union?

11 am – 12 pm

What are the views of the French public regarding the EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, and how do they influence the position of the official Paris? What role does the internal French politics play in defining the French position towards the EU enlargement, and can the 2022 elections change the current negative discourse surrounding this topic? Does France utilize bilateral relations with local countries to regain and strengthen its position in the Balkans without allowing any further steps towards the European integration of the region?

Panelists:

• Srdjan Cvijic, Senior Policy Analyst with the Open Society European Policy Institute, Brussels
• Sébastien Gricourt, Director of the Observatoire des Balkans for the Fondation Jean-Jaurès, Paris
• Loïc Tregoures, Ph.D. in Political Science and Balkans specialist

Moderator:

Marion Dautry, journalist for the Agence France-Presse

Second session: Regional view – can France become an ally on the European path?

12 pm – 1 pm

From the regional perspective, what is the main reasoning for French rejection of any substantial progress towards the EU integration in recent years? How does President Macron’s proposition on reforming the enlargement mechanism affect the membership aspirations of the Balkans’ countries? Finally, what could be the most efficient strategies for local governments to influence the French hardline stance on the European integration of the region?

Panelists:

• Jovana Marovic, Executive Director of the Politikon Network, Podgorica
• Alba Çela, Executive Director and Head of the European Program at the Albanian Institute for International Studies, Tirana
• Zoran Nechev, Head of the Center for EU integration of the Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis”, Skopje
• Vuk Vuksanovic, researcher of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, Belgrade

Moderator:

Marion Dautry, journalist for the Agence France-Presse