As Europe seeks to redefine itself, it was Ukraine that dominated international discussions at the European Political Community (EPC) Summit—despite the fact that, for the first time, the event was hosted in Albania, a Western Balkan country. Very little was said about the region itself, and even that only on the media sidelines.

Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije’s April 22 visit to Moscow highlights a worrying deepening of Serbia’s alignment with Russia[...]. The visit increasingly appears to have been a prelude to, or even a soft announcement of, President Vučić’s more visible alignment with Russia, which culminated in his attendance at the 9 May celebrations in Moscow. 

While Brussels may see the Jadar lithium mining project as a strategic step toward a greener future, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić sees it as a tactical tool to reinforce his grip on power - just as hundreds of thousands rise to reclaim democracy.

The Western Balkans 6 Strategy Group strongly condemns the latest government-orchestrated attacks on civil society in Serbia and urges pro-democracy actors, EU institutions and political leaders to take a firm stand against this repression. 

On May 11, 2025, Albania will hold parliamentary elections, the first since officially opening EU accession negotiations. While some significant changes mark this election—most notably, diaspora voting and partial candidate list openness—major systemic factors remain unchanged. The Socialist Party (SP), in power since 2013, appears poised for an unprecedented fourth mandate.

Brussels, 21 November 2024 – “The EU integration process should not be a transactional relation between EU Member States and candidate countries, but a truly transformational path based on democratic values and human rights.” – was the main message which was conveyed by the members of the Western Balkans 6 Strategy Group during the advocacy visit with stakeholders in Brussels. 

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In traumatised societies faced with a mass exodus of the population and further social decay, the highest price is paid by vulnerable social classes and marginal groups. For the ruling structures, obsessed with machismo-understood national interests, these layers and groups are possibly only important on election day. Although the legal regulation of violence against women has been significantly improved, it is minimally reported, female victims suffer it for many years in isolation, and budget allocations for safe houses remain minimal. Research shows that almost four out of ten women in Bosnia and Herzegovina have experienced psychological, physical, or sexual violence after the age of 15, but even these data are not sufficient to finally treat it seriously, as well as the recent, brutal cases of femicide. 

Therefore, one of the key points of interest for the public is how much the VMRO-DPMNE party has changed in the past seven years under Mickoski’s leadership and how much it has distanced itself from the past behavior.

Vienna, 13 June 2024 - The June 2024 EU elections hold significant implications for the Western Balkans (WB), a region whose political and economic stability is closely intertwined with European integration and which requires focused attention from the EU.