Rome – ESI lecture on the future of the Western Balkans and European unity at the NATO Defense College

22 April 2026
Gerald at the NATO Defense College. Photo: ESI
Gerald at the NATO Defense College. Photo: ESI

ESI’s Gerald Knaus delivered a lecture at the NATO Defense College in Rome on the future of the Western Balkans, focusing on how European policy can respond to a period of renewed geopolitical tension. He emphasized that, at a time of growing instability in Europe’s neighbourhood, sustained and credible European engagement in the region is more important than ever to preserve stability and prevent renewed fragmentation.

At the centre of his remarks was ESI’s proposal to revitalise the enlargement process. Gerald argued that the European Union should offer any Western Balkan country that meets accession benchmarks immediate access to the Single Market, including the four freedoms of movement of goods, services, capital, and people. Such an approach, he suggested, would provide tangible benefits early in the process, strengthen reform incentives, and demonstrate that progress towards integration brings concrete rewards even before full membership is achieved.

Drawing on the experience of the region, Gerald noted that European integration has already proven its value as a stabilising force in the Balkans, helping to maintain peace despite persistent political tensions. In a context shaped by renewed great-power competition and the ongoing war in Ukraine, he argued that expanding both EU integration and NATO cooperation remains essential. Integration, he concluded, has delivered security and prosperity in the past, and with determined political commitment, it can do so again in today’s more challenging environment.