Policy Brief: Between ‘Balkan Route’ and ‘European Path’

While the EU and its member states often adopt a rhetoric that distances 'Europe' from the so-called 'Western Balkans', integration has, in fact, steadily deepened, and cooperation increased on the continental, bilateral, and societal level.

As Europe finds itself at an important juncture where its own future in the global order will be decided and its room for manoeuvre is shrinking, it is high time to support and expand inter-societal dialogues and include a wide range of actors in the ongoing debates on the future of the continent.

Shifting the conversation

In our policy brief “Between Balkan Route and European Path”, Frauke Seebass offers specific recommendations towards a whole-of-society dialogue. As history has shown, proximity means we cannot escape each other’s problems or hide ours in a perceived ‘backyard’.

Thus, she recommends shifting the conversation towards connections rather than divisions, to find joint solutions for common challenges rather than relocating problems, and to widen the dialogue to include a much larger share of those affected by the European integration process, using a bold democratic approach.