2025 will be a decisive year for the European Union’s enlargement process in the Western Balkans. Which is the current relationship between the EU and the region? How is the accession process developing? In the current geopolitical context, what are the risks for European security in the South-Eastern Europe?

On Thursday, January 23 at 1:00 pm (CET), join our online conversation with Ioannis Armakolas, Associate Professor in Comparative Politics of South East Europe at the University of Macedonia and Head of the South-East Europe Programme at the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP). Ioannis Armakolas is one of the academic coordinators of the next IDEES magazine special issue, together with Ruth Ferrero-Turrión. The next IDEES magazine special issue is devoted to reflect on the political and social context in the Western Balkans in a key moment, especially due to the reactivation of the European Union enlargement process and the challenges of illiberal authoritarianism in the region.

In this conversation, we will try to find out the meaning and scope of the European promise, and we will analyze the efforts of the Balkan countries to meet the accession criteria and become full member states of the European Union, seen as a guarantee of progress, cohesion and political stability. We will also reflect on how the current recomposition of the international order will affect the European enlargement process, what is the role of global powers such as Russia and China in the region, which are the risks of a possible illiberal regression in the Balkans and what influence does the memory of the 1990s wars still have in today’s societies.

This is the ninth session of the ‘Finestra d’idees’ series, a conversation series with experts promoted by the Centre for Contemporary Studies with the aim of deepening the analysis of the main international current affairs. The session can be followed live via YouTube. At the end of the conversation, there will be time for questions from the audience.