On the Rule of Law in the Western Balkans with the Representatives of the EU Institutions

Within the framework of the project Monitoring and Evaluating the Rule of Law in the Western Balkans (MERLIN WB), implemented by the European Policy Institute (EPI), in partnership with BCSP and Institute Alternativa (IA) from Podgorica, three researchers visited the EU institutions and discussed with the organizations and foundations dealing with the rule of law issues in the Western Balkans. The study visit was organized by the Open Society European Policy Institute (OSEPI) and the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB).

Consultative meetings with the DG JUST and DG NEAR were organized during the visit, where the representatives of Western Balkans think-tanks had the opportunity to point out worrying trends that are threatening to undermine the rule of law in the region. Among other things, the issues that were highlighted included the problems with the inability to organize free, fair and democratic elections; the ever increasing politicization of the state force apparatus and its abuse on the part of political elites; and increasingly worsening situation when it comes to the freedom of the press. In addition, a number of region-specific issues that are detrimental to the rule of law was brought up, the issues that the European Commission paid little attention to in its annual Progress Reports. Beside the EC, meetings were organized with the representatives of the Committee for Enlargement within the Council (COELA) and the European External Action Service (EEAS).

During the visit, a round-table discussion was organized at the OSEPI premises, titled The Rule of Law in the Western Balkans: Strengthening the Conditionality Mechanism within Chapters 23 and 24 of the EU Negotiations. “The round-table was attended by a number of Brussels-based experts from research centers, organizations and foundations dealing with the Enlargement Policy and the Western Balkans, as well as the staffers from the European Parliament. The topic of the meeting was the current state of play of the rule of law in Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro pertaining to the Chapters 23 and 24, focusing on the ways to solve the outstanding issues during the accession process.

The goal of the MERLIN WB project is to establish a regional coordination mechanism for democracy and the rule of law, by focusing on fulfilment of the criteria from Chapters 23 and 24. The project is implemented by the European Policy Center from Skopje, with BCSP, IA and GONG from Zagreb as partners.