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The Latest Breaking News from Western Balkans

EU-Western Balkans summit: A new impetus for EU enlargement?

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is urging the EU to send a strong signal to the Western Balkans at an upcoming summit in Albania on December 6. "Young people from those countries are hungry for the EU," she says, and the EU "should not turn away from them". But as…

France 24

Western Balkan mafia networks now key actors in regional, EU drug trade-study

Criminal networks in the Western Balkans have become key actors in both regional and European Union drug markets, a report by the bloc's drugs agency (EMCDDA) said on Monday.

Reuters

Western Balkans leaders to sign deals on closer integration in Berlin

Western Balkans leaders are set to sign three agreements on mutual recognition of identity cards, university degrees and professional qualifications at a summit in Berlin on Thursday, German government officials said.

Reuters

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EU leader tours Western Balkans and Serbia to seek more influence

The European Union is in the midst of yet another goodwill trip through the Western Balkans to drum up support for the bloc and to make sure that Europe's historical tinderbox is not about to pick the side of hostile Russia or strategic rival China in the world of geopolitics.

Radio France Internationale

EU revisits Balkans to win friends, seek more influence

The European Union is in the midst of yet another goodwill trip through the Western Balkans to drum up support for the 27-nation bloc

The Independent UK

Western Balkans to agree free movement in step toward EU membership

Western Balkan ministers are set to agree on Friday on visa-free travel between the six countries and on mutual recognition of university diplomas and professional qualifications, taking a step towards EU membership.

Reuters

Germany extends checks at Austrian border as migrant numbers rise

Germany is extending border checks at crossings from Austria for six months from November given a recent rise in the number of migrants arriving via the Western Balkans route, German interior minister Nancy Faeser said on Tuesday.

Reuters

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Central European leaders pledge new measures to stem flow of migrants to EU

The leaders of Hungary, Serbia and Austria pledged new measures on Monday to contain the flow of illegal migrants into the European Union through the Western Balkans, as border control forces become increasingly strained.

Reuters

U.S. sanctions 'brazenly corrupt' Bosnian state prosecutor

The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on a Bosnian state prosecutor who is accused of being complicit in corruption and undermining democratic processes or institutions in the Western Balkans

The Independent UK

War in Ukraine: has the time for EU enlargement arrived?

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has upended the European order as we know it, and that was even before the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline was cut off this week. While the bloc gets down to grappling with the unfolding energy crisis, the question of consolidating its flanks by…

The Conversation

EU, NATO must back Western Balkan integration amid Ukraine war, says Slovenia

Slovenian President Borut Pahor said on Monday that countries in the Western Balkans were at risk of instability because of the war in Ukraine and called for a swift accession for Bosnia into the European Union and the NATO alliance.

Reuters

German troops back to Bosnia as fear of instability grows

Germany has deployed troops with the European Union's peacekeeping mission in Bosnia for the first time in a decade as concerns mount instability from the Ukraine war could spread to the Western Balkans.

Reuters

Spain fully backs Western Balkan integration into EU

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said the Western Balkans are an integral part of the European Union, repeating his country's full support of the region's integration into the 27-member bloc

The Independent UK

Spanish PM Sanchez opens Balkan tour with visit to Serbia

Spain’s prime minister has kicked off his tour of the Western Balkans with a visit to Serbia

The Independent UK

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Reuters

Slovene PM suggests incentive stepping stones for W. Balkan countries on path to EU

The European Union should focus on rewarding countries of the Western Balkans for progress on the road to accession in order to create incentives for them to keep pursuing a distant and challenging goal, Slovenia's Prime Minister said.

Reuters

Berlin to again deploy troops in Bosnia 10 years after withdrawal

Germany will deploy troops with the EU's peacekeeping mission in Bosnia for the first time in a decade as concerns mount about instability from the Ukraine war spilling over to the Western Balkans, the parliament in Berlin decided on Friday.

France 24

Ringing the changes: Are citizens' proposals for the EU's future being heard?

At the most recent EU leaders’ summit last week, much of the talk was focused on the future of the European Union, particularly its potential enlargement. Varying degrees of assurances on possible membership were given to Ukraine, Moldova and to a different degree, the Western Balkans states. EU leaders gave…

The Independent UK

EXPLAINER: Western Balkans' promised EU future still hazy

European Union leaders will seek to offer support this week to six Western Balkan nations that have long been knocking at the bloc’s doors

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Reuters

Illegal entries into EU from Western Balkans more than doubled in May - Frontex

The European Union in May registered a steep rise of illegal entries from the Western Balkans into the 27-nation bloc, the EU border agency Frontex said on Monday.

Reuters

Germany urges Bulgaria to lift veto on N.Macedonia EU entry talks

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday called on Bulgaria to lift its veto on EU accession talks for North Macedonia, saying the bloc should avoid dashing the membership hopes of countries in Western Balkans.

Reuters

Greek PM says EU must integrate Western Balkans by 2033 - Politico

(Refiles to give PM's full name in lede parapraph)

Reuters

Serbia shrugs off pressure from Germany to join EU sanctions on Russia

Serbian President Aleksandar Vuvic appeared to rebuff pressure from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday for Serbia to join European Union sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, saying he did not believe sanctions to be "efficient".

The Conversation

Debate: What ‘European political community’ do we need now?

The war that is taking place in Ukraine is redrawing the geopolitical map across the continent and shaking up Europeans’ presuppositions. It is reshaping their relationship to security, to their neighbours and challenges the European Union to redefine the foundations of the European construction.

Reuters

Germany's Scholz wants Western Balkans in EU

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he will travel to the Western Balkans before a meeting of the European Council takes place next month, bearing the message that the region belongs in the European Union.

Reuters

Serbia must push on with reforms to join EU, says Germany's Scholz

Serbia must press ahead with reforms, including on media freedom, to realise its ambition of joining the European Union, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday, adding he wanted all Western Balkans countries to become members.

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