Berlin – ESI at the Aspen Western Balkans Working Group

Photo: Aspen Institute

ESI's Gerald Knaus was invited to participate in the Western Balkans Working Group organised by the Aspen Institute. The conference brought together high-level government representatives from the Western Balkans Six, German government representatives, Members of the German Bundestag, select experts, and representatives of EU member states.

Gerald made the case for a two stage accession process towards full membership, and for a reformed and merit-based first stage leading to single market accession, launched with all WB6 in 2020. He also explained why this would be excellent not only for the region, and politically attractive for governments in France and in the Netherlands, and good for the EU as a whole.

• Rumeli Observer: 101 On the French Veto, Balkan accession and what next (18 November 2019)
• ESI newsletter: Coup de grâce – Delors and squaring the circle – Norway in the Balkans (25 October 2019)
• ESI background: HOW ARE THEY DOING? European Commission assessments of North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania (April 2018) (29 April 2019)