The Centre for Contemporary Studies and the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the European Union will launch, on Tuesday, May 20 at 4:00 p.m. in Brussels, the latest IDEES Magazine special issue, ‘The Balkans at the crossroads’. In a context of renewed geopolitics, rise of illiberalism and reactivation of the EU Enlargement agenda, this special issue takes a deep, multi-faceted look at the political and social situation of the Western Balkans, revisiting recent events and outlining trends and prospects.

The IDEES Magazine special issue, coordinated by Ioannis Armakolas and Ruth Ferrero-Turrión, is available online and also in paper edition. The publication includes fourteen contributions by leading experts such as Ivan Vejvoda, Tim Judah, Simonida Kacarska, Florent Marciacq, Esma Kučukalić, Milica Uvalić or Engjellushe Morina, among others.

The kick-off event will feature the participation of three IDEES contributors: Isabelle Ioannides, Senior Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and Europe’s Future Fellow of the ERSTE Foundation/IWM; Alejandro Esteso Pérez, Researcher and Political Analyst, PhD candidate at the University of Graz (Austria), and Berta López Domènech, Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre (EPC), with opening remarks by Ester Borràs, Delegate of the Government of Catalonia to the EU, and a keynote speech by Javier Sánchez Cano, director of the Centre for Contemporary Studies.

The kick-off event will take place at the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the European Union (Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat, 227, Brussels). To attend the event, you must register in advance. The attending public will be able to take home a copy of IDEES magazine paper edition.