“Serbia and Montenegro: A Step Closer to Reaching EU Accession?”

Partner: Center for EU Enlargement Studies
Event date: May 18, 2015
Deadline for registering: May 17, 2015
Venue: Central European University, 1051 Budapest, Nador u. 9, Popper Room, 9.00 a.m., Hungary
Category: Conference

About the event: While Croatia joined the EU in 2013, progress toward the accession of the other non-EU states in the Western Balkans has varied from country to country. The accession negotiations with Montenegro and Serbia are ongoing. The two countries are the only non-EU Western Balkan countries which have effectively made progress on their journey towards EU membership. Nevertheless, the progress of Montenegro and Serbia to a point where they are now tangible candidates for membership shows that the grip of anti-enlargement attitudes amongst EU Member States is perhaps waning. The benefits for the EU to enlarge to the Western Balkans, particularly in solidifying stability in the region and extending a zone of peace and prosperity to South East Europe, arguably outweigh the purported costs of accession.

The one-day international conference will explore the following: political challenges (democracy, rule of law and corruption, visa-free travel); economic challenges (competitiveness of Serbia and Montenegro and the rest of the region, challenges and risks of joining the single market); social challenges (unemployment, migration, civil society).

09:00 – 09:30  Registration

09:30 – 09:40  Opening remarks

09:40– 10:20   Keynote speeches

10:20 – 11:45  Panel I. – Extending EU territorial contours in the current framework: Political challenges

12:15 – 13:45  Panel II. – Added-value or burden for the EU: Economic challenges

14:45 – 16:15  Panel III. – Unemployment, migration and civil society: Social challenges

16:15 – 16:30  Closing remarks

                 RSVP: Hana Semanić (semanich@ceu.edu)

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Keywords: EU, Europe, Economic Security