European Talks

Following the European Commission’s 2017 Proposal for a Directive on work-life balance for parents and carers, the new EU Work-life Balance Directive was passed by the European Parliament in April 2019. The aim of this Directive is to “improve families’” access to family leave and flexible work arrangements’, and ultimately “contribute to an increase in women’s employment and families’ economic st...

A conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno Karabakh, a territory which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but de facto ruled by the Armenian majority living there, re-erupted a couple of days ago. In order to get the full picture of what is happening on the ground, and to see what can Europe to prevent the conflict from escalating, we have invited two prominent ex...

The recent elections in Montenegro suggest that major changes could soon take place in this Western Balkan country. Montenegro has opened all chapters in the process of negotiations with the EU, but how far has the enlargement process really progressed and what can be expected in the coming period when it comes to the EU accession process, but also with the political climate in the country? We spo...

Welcome to the first episode of the WeBER podcast series of European Talks podcast, a new communication tool in the regional WeBER initiative context. Each podcast episode will be devised around a relevant public administration reform and civil society related topic in the region. With this series, we mainly target civil society, experts, government officials and external interested audience (rath...

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the Council of the EU gave the green light to opening of accession talks with Albania. What are the expectations regarding next steps, given the current pandemic restrictions? Can the revised enlargement methodology lead to a more effective accession process? What is the current political climate in this country? In this episode, we talked to Gjergji Vurmo, pro...

In this episode, we talked about the current political situation in North Macedonia, EU sentiments of its citizens, and about the strengths and risks of the revised accession methodology for the Western Balkans. Our guest is Dr Simonida Kacarska, director of the European Policy Institute in Skopje, North Macedonia.

A few days ago, elections were held in Serbia, in which the ruling party won a convincing victory. These elections were boycotted by part of the opposition. With our dear guest, Vladimír Bilčík, member of the European Parliament and its rapporteur for Serbia, we talked about the election results, relations between the European Union and the countries of the Western Balkans, and regional relations,...

The European Commission announced over €3.3 billion of EU financial support for the Western Balkans mobilised jointly with the European Investment Bank (EIB) in order to tackle the COVID-19 crisis and help with the social and economic recovery. How will this support be implemented and what will be the role of the EIB? We will address these questions in this podcast episode with the Head of EIB Reg...

The beginning of this year promised to reset the sluggish dynamics of the EU-Western Balkans relationship, following the EU’s endorsement of a revised accession framework. However, the pandemic has shifted the focus to other topics, like solidarity and economic recovery. What impact will developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic have on the EU accession process of the region? What are the EU’s...

The COVID-19 pandemic has stopped the whole world, in one way or another. How is Brussels, the "capital of the European Union", coping with the crisis? How are think tanks, educational institutions and NGOs in Europe struggling with it and how is it affecting their work? Does the EU have time to pay attention to its Western Balkan neighbours now, or is it preoccupied with its own problems? And - t...

The ongoing #COVID19 pandemic can be observed as a case study for global, European, and regional solidarity and cooperation - or the lack thereof. Which side of the argument is more correct? When it comes to the Western Balkans, how has this crisis influenced the already-fragile relationships between countries? Can we hope that we will get out of this crisis smarter? We reached out to Ms. Majlinda...

Veliki napor je uložen u borbu protiv pandemije COVID-19, poznatog kao novi koronavirus, kako bi se sačuvali životi i izbegao „italijanski” scenario, koji se ogleda u kolapsu zdravstvenog sistema usled preopterećenja ogromnim brojem životno ugroženih pacijenata u kratkom periodu. Uvedene su nezapamćene mere ograničenja kretanja i društvenih kontakta, zabranjen je ili ograničen rad velikom broju, n...

There are growing doubts about the region’s European perspective following a series of postponements in the opening of accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia and the announcement of reforms of the enlargement methodology. Although Montenegro and Serbia are forerunners in the process, membership is still a long way off, especially after EU member states largely dismissed the 2025 membersh...

In this episode, we speak about the Dutch approach to the accession of the Western Balkans in the European Union, the European Commission’s proposal for a revised accession methodology, proposal for participation of the Western Balkans at the Conference on the Future of Europe and what it’s like to make and maintain friendships when you’re a diplomat. Our guest is H.E. Gilles Beschoor Plug, the Am...

In this episode, we speak about the think tanks, and their potential to counter the decline of democracy worldwide and nurture inclusive and evidence-based policymaking. Our guest is Sonja Stojanović Gajić, great connoseur of the topic, member of Executive Board of Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCBP) and CEP Council member. This episode coincides with the publishing of annual ranking of top...

Nataša Vučković, member of the Parliament and executive director of the Center for Democracy Foundation and Nenad Šebek, journalist and CSO's and media consultant discuss this election dilemma and much more in CEP's latest podcast.

More and more countries worldwide are placing the administrators in the users’ shoes and trying to understand the citizens’ journey through the service request. Today, we will talk about public services and service delivery. Our guest is Gregor Virant, Head of SIGMA and former minister of public administration of Slovenia. SIGMA stands for Support for Improvement in Governance and Management, a jo...

EU enlargement policy has returned to the spotlight in Brussels. France is mostly to blame, or to thank for this, firstly for yet another postponement of the start of North Macedonia and Albania's accession negotiations, and secondly for its latest initiative to reform the EU’s enlargement policy towards the Western Balkans. Our guest is His Excellency Jean-Louis Falconi, the Ambassador of France...

H.E. Tobias Flessenkemper, Head of the Belgrade Office of Council of Europe, is joined by Sena Marić, Programme Manager and Senior Researcher in CEP. Useful links: Universal Declaration of Human Rights: https://www.coe.int/en/web/compass/the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights-full-version- Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence: https://www....

Nenad Šebek, journalist and CSO's and media consultant, is joined by Sena Marić, Programme Manager and Senior Researcher in CEP.

Ms Milena Lazarević, CEP's Programme Director, is joined by Dušan Pjevović, CEP's External Associate.

His Excellency Mr. Kimmo Lähdevirta is joined by Dušan Pjevović, Researcher in CEP.

Jan Marinus Wiersma, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Clingendael Institute, is joined by Sena Marić, Programme Manager and Senior Researcher at CEP.

Dr. Natasha Wunsch, Postdoctoral Researcher at the European Politics Group at ETH Zurich is joined by Sena Marić, Programme Manager and Senior Researcher in CEP.

Dr. Corina Stratulat, Senior Policy Analyst and the Head of the European Politics in EPC Brussels is joined by Dušan Pjevović, Researcher in CEP.