EU enlargement, Western Balkans and Turkey [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Written by Marcin Grajewski,

In his State of the Union speech in September 2017, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for keeping a credible European Union membership perspective for Western Balkan countries, while ruling out the possibility of Turkey joining the EU in “the foreseeable future” due to violations to the rule of law and fundamental rights. According to the Commission’s assessment, the forecasts for economic growth in the Western Balkans are good, although progress on reform has been slow, the rule of law has been weak, and corruption is persistent. From the Western Balkans, only Croatia joined the EU, in 2013. Accession talks continue with Montenegro and Serbia. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania are official candidates. Bosnia and Herzegovina formally applied for EU membership in 2016, and remains a potential candidate country, along with Kosovo. Relations between Turkey, an official candidate country, and the EU have been strained for some time due to what many politicians and analysts perceive as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly autocratic style. This note offers links to a series of recent studies and comments from major international think tanks and research institutes on EU enlargement, Western Balkans and Turkey. More reports on the EU enlargement process can be found in a previous edition of ‘What Think Tanks are thinking’ published in March 2017. More reports on Turkey are available in another edition of the series, also published in March.

Enlargement and Western Balkans

The obsolescence of the European Neighbourhood Policy Centre for European Policy Studies, Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies, October 2017 Balkan enlargement and the politics of civic pressure: The case of the public administration reform sector European Policy Centre, October 2017 What Europe can do for the Western Balkans European Council on Foreign Relations, October 2017 EU enlargement: Door half open or door half shut? Centre for European Reform, October 2017 Balkan Enlargement and the politics of civic pressure European Policy Centre, Belgrade, October 2017 Possible date for EU accession and the years ahead European Policy Centre, Belgrade, October 2017 Quality of the response of judiciary in BiH to corruption: Preliminary results Analitika, October 2017 Serbia’s pursuit of interest in the EU European Policy Centre, Belgrade, September 2017 The ‘Berlin Process‘ for the Western Balkans: Is it delivering? Centre for European Policy Studies, July 2017 The Balkans, the Black Sea region and China Clingendael, July 2017 The Western Balkans in the European Union: Perspectives of a region in Europe Instituto Affari Internazionali, July 2017 Is the EU on the move again? The development of the CSDP and “multi-speed” EU European Policy Centre, Belgrade, July 2017 Fostering resilience in the Western Balkans European Union Institute for Security Studies, June 2017 Kosovo’s EU candidate status: A goal within reach? European Policy Centre, June 2017 Towards a smart staff retention policy for the sustainable EU integration of Serbia European Policy Centre, Belgrade, June 2017 EU Enlargement: A six percent target for the Western Balkans Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, June 2017 EU and the Western Balkans: Addressing together challenges and using opportunities Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, June 2017 The Western Balkans in the European Union: Enlargement to what, accession to what? Instituto Affari Internazionali, May 2017 What price do Serbia and Macedonia have to pay to save the EU? Europeum, May 2017 Does the EU really care about the Western Balkans? Carnegie Europe, May 2017 The Macedonian crisis: A failure of EU conflict management? Centre for European Policy Studies, May 2017 The six countries of the Western Balkans need the EU’s full attention Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, March 2017 Balkan Barometer 2017. Business Opinion Survey, Regional Cooperation Council, October 2017 Political Trends & Dynamics: Emerging Leadership in Southeast Europe Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, September 2017 The Crisis of Democracy in the Western Balkans: Authoritarianism and EU stabilitocracy BiEPAG, March 2017

Turkey

Turkey and the EU: No end to the drift Centre for European Reform, October 2017 The EU should not turn its back on Turkey European Policy Centre, October 2017 Turkey’s relations with Germany and the EU: Breaking the vicious circle European Policy Centre, October 2017 Is Turkey Weakening NATO? Carnegie Europe, September 2017 Turkey and EU at a crossroads: How to fix a wrecked relationship Heinrich Böll Stiftung, July 2017 Turkey and the EU: Perpetual crisis or restricted cooperation? German Marshall Fund, June 2017 Four steps to an EU-Turkey reset Carnegie Europe, June 2017 European Union-Turkey: From an illusory membership to a “privileged partnership” Fondation Robert Schuman, June 2017 Turkey, the EU and the Mediterranean: Perceptions, policies and prospects Istituto Affari Internazionali, June 2017 Turkey’s evolving array of diplomatic challenges Carnegie Europe, June 2017 The axiology of EU cultural diplomacy in Muslim majority countries: The paradox of Turkey Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Institute for European Studies, June 2017 The EU-Turkey refugee deal and the not quite closed Balkan route Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, June 2017 The “new Turkey” in the making: What should the EU’s strategy be? Polish Institute of International Affairs, June 2017 The Turkish economy is struggling with political volatility Chatham House, June 2017 “Hang them in Taksim”: Europe, Turkey and the future of the death penalty European Stability Initiative, May 2017 The Chapter Illusion: For honesty and clarity in EU-Turkey relations European Stability Initiative, May 2017 Why the EU should terminate accession negotiations with Turkey Centre for European Policy Studies, April 2017 Turkish referendum: Erdogan home but not yet dry European Council on Foreign Relations, April 2017 Making the EU-Turkey refugee deal work Bruegel, April 2017 Turkey’s constitutional referendum: What you need to know European Council on Foreign Relations, April 2017 Negotiating Brexit: The prospect of a UK-Turkey partnership Carnegie Europe, March 2017 Energy and climate strategies, interests and priorities of the EU and Turkey Istituto Affari Internazionali, March 2017

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Read this briefing on ‘EU enlargement, Western Balkans and Turkey‘ on the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.