The debate about European enlargement and the Western Balkans

This week Western Balkan leaders will travel to Brussels for a high-level meeting with EU leaders where they will discuss progress on their integration with the EU and the challenges posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The meeting comes as the debate over EU enlargement picks up again, which has seen calls from key European leaders for the EU to live up to its promises to the Western Balkans and take meaningful steps to integrate the region into the European family. Florian Bieber joins Thanos Davelis to look at how the war in Ukraine is impacting the debate over EU enlargement, putting the Western Balkans’ hopes of integration into the EU back in the spotlight.

Florian Bieber is a Professor of Southeast European History and Politics and Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz, Austria. He is also a coordinator at The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group.