Western Balkans Strategy Group

About Western Balkans Strategy Group

The European integration of the Western Balkans countries has stalled because of the unwillingness of EU countries to pursue further expansion, and the unwillingness of most WB leaders to undertake the significant and necessary reforms which are prerequisites for Accession.

These delays have eroded the EU’s credibility as a transformative power in the Western Balkans to a significant extent, and have allowed reactionary right-wing forces to thrive in the political landscapes of WB countries. If the EU is to regain its status as the undisputed role model for the political and economic development of the WB countries, it must change and adapt its policies toward them.

To that end, the HBS Offices in Belgrade, Sarajevo and Berlin have estalished a Strategy Group tasked with conceptualizing and presenting to EU decision-makers policy proposals aimed at revitalizing the EU Accession process of the WB countries in line with progressive, green, and gender-sensitive values. The Group consists of prominent Civil Society representatives from each of the WB countries, and is subdivided into working groups.

Position Paper On WB6

policy brief

Recommendations and expectations for German and European policy.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has direct and significant implications for the Western Balkans. The lack of a consistent and convincing EU perspective and U.S. engagement in the region opened up space for other actors and scenarios aimed at recomposing the Western Balkans as well as promoted regressive tendencies throughout the region.

BEYOND NON-PAPERS_WesternBalkans6StrategyGroup

BEYOND NON-PAPERS

Policy brief

For the past three decades, Western Balkan countries have been going through a dynamic period of consolidation of new states, economic transition and transformation of social values. This process of regional and internal consolidation is unfinished and the legacy of conflict is still powerful; yet the outlook of EU accession is the one positive project offering a perspective to societies and economies while settling the wounds of the past.

POLICY BRIEF: The Dayton Peace Agreement at 25 - How to proceed for agreement for future?

Policy Brief

In a policy brief, experts of the West Balkan Strategy Group have presented the set of problems in a short and comprehensible way and formulated recommendations for action in order to come closer to a genuine citizen society in BiH. Stability and progress in the Balkans will not be achieved without a solution to the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina. And it is not only a regional problem, but a pan-European one.

WB6 Strategy Group on BiH: The elasticity of the integration process

Thus far, BiH political leaders have not demonstrated substantial progress in fulfilling the integration’s requirements, nor in joint efforts of prioritizing EU integration and putting it before particular ethnic interests. In case of Mr. Čović and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), it is necessary to keep in mind the type of EU-BiH perspective they advocate for, as well what their policies imply for BiH.

Western Balkan 6 Strategy Group - for an effective EU-enlargement policy

The “Strategy Group for a political, societal and economic European integration of the
Western Balkans Six” is a group of legal, historical and political researches from all WB6
countries organized by Heinrich Böll Stiftung’s Belgrade, Sarajevo and Berlin offices.
Its aim is to credibly advocate for a more effective European integration of the Balkans
in European as well as Balkan capitals.

Read more about the Western Balkans countries