ECIPE Webinar: From Periphery to Power – The Geoeconomic Case for Southeast Europe

In this webinar, we present and discuss our upcoming Policy Brief “From Periphery to Power – The Geoeconomic Case for Southeast Europe” on behalf of ECIPE, the Open Society Foundations Western Balkans, and the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG).

As geoeconomic competition is more prevalent than ever in the current enlargement context, the lack of a clear strategy vis-à-vis third actors in the Western Balkans is a serious obstacle to EU interests. Actors as well as type and intensity of their influence differ widely from country to country and are often based on long-standing bilateral and inter-societal connections. The importance of geo-economic competition to the EU’s positioning and security in its neighbourhood is growing. It is thus key to involve these considerations strategically also in the EU accession process.

The Policy Brief analyses the effects of geoeconomic competition in the candidate countries on the EU accession process, and provides targeted recommendations on how the EU can better mitigate ensuing risks. A special focus lies on the “frontrunner” countries Montenegro and Albania, as we analyse specifically how these dynamics interact with the new EU enlargement methodology.