The revision of the EU enlargement policy announced by the European Commission has illustrated a political will to bring the issue of enlargement back on the EU table on both, supranational and intergovernmental, levels. Such discussion, however, illustrated not only common vision but also different interests of member states that directly impact the outcome of planned reform and pose a question on sustainability of achieved „commonality of purpose” (Mauer et al., 2023) among EU institutions and member states. Such state of events was, to some extent, inspired by the tempo and scale of democratisation processes in eastern and southern neighbourhood of the EU and the nature of bilateral relations between EU and its neighbours. Therefore, the panel discussion aims at exploring the processes of European integration in Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership states in light of the 2030 Enlargement Agenda and geopolitical challenges caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Panelists will address such issues as the EU support for the Europeanization in the neighborhood states, EU initiatives aimed at democracy support and increased integration among the non-EU member states in terms of the accession process, role of political leadership and political discourse in the promotion and implementation of milestones in (potential) candidates on their way to EU membership. By analyzing the enlargement policy as a case study there will be made an attempt to evaluate the implications of the announced EU foreign policy revision and explain the factors defining the EU relations with neighboring states in the current geopolitical context.

This paper evaluates the European Union's (EU) objectives and instruments in promoting regional integration in the Western Balkans, intending to facilitate the region's eventual accession to the EU. The EU has pursued a regional approach to cooperation, resulting in the creation of various regional cooperation initiatives and institutional connections in Southeast Europe. One notable attempt at trade liberalization was the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA 2006). However, more recently, the EU has been promoting deeper sub-regional integration through the establishment of a Common Regional Market of the Western Balkans, inspired by the EU's four fundamental freedoms (free movement of goods, services, capital, and people). The goal of this initiative was to encourage regional economic integration based on EU regulations, ultimately aiding the Western Balkans in their EU accession process.

This paper questions the necessity of deep sub-regional economic integration as a stepping stone to EU accession. It compares the development of regional integration through CEFTA 2006 with the earlier stages of regional economic integration under the original CEFTA and its added value for the EU integration process of CEE countries. The paper highlights concerns among interested parties regarding the EU's approach to establishing a Common Regional Market, as it may lead to the creation of a regional trade ghetto. It also considers the achievement of deep sub-regional integration as an alternative to the European integration of countries in the Western Balkans.

The aim of this paper is to map the changes in the EU related political discourse. The case of North Macedonia is of particular interest due to the fact that its protracted road towards the EU and the unlclear membership perspectives create a specific political environment. The negotiation framework requirements become a source of heated political confrontation with a game changing potential the outcome of which will be known by the time of the conference. Regardless of this outcome, the interesting phenomenon deserving a closer look is the growing EU related criticism as a political strategy in a candidate state. While driven by internal political interests, it exemplifies a trend of rejecting the EU consensus at national level with potential consequences for the future of the EU-North Macedonia relations.

The purpose of the contribution is to explain the leadership performance of major EU institutions (European Council, European Commission and European Parliament) on the inter institutional and intergovernmental compromise on the enlargement policy agenda-setting. In the meantime, the major focus is put on the Ukrainian case as a trigger of the EU eastern policy change and the transformation of the EU leadership (from transactional to transformational) in light of Russian full-scale invasion. Drawing on analysis of political discourses of institutional leaders and substance of adopted documentation on the planned enlargement this proposal makes an attempt to answer a question whether the European Union as a collective actor combining supranational and intergovernmental features might become a transformative agenda-setter in reforming EU eastern policy as a whole.