Note from the Author: As a Canadian researcher focused on the European Union and an advocate for the accession of the Western Balkans, I have a somewhat unusual perspective on the EU's growing relationship with Canada. I am excited to see Canada moving closer to Europe. For me, the prospect of a deeper Canadian European relationship represents an opportunity to strengthen the ties between two places that I care deeply about. But alongside my excitement for Canada, I cannot he

Vigilance is required across the Western Balkans to safeguard the rule of law. However, EU leaders must retain a sense of geopolitical and jurisdictional perspective in assessing how rule of law shortcomings are interpreted as a metric for EU accession readiness across the region. Placing too much emphasis on rule of law issues risks losing sight of the bigger geopolitical game that is unfolding across Southeastern Europe. Furthermore, denying EU membership to the WB6 based

WB30's COO, Reuben Johnston statement put out pre-EU Western Balkans Conference. Twenty-three years ago, Brussels told the Western Balkans they belonged in the European family. They are still on the doorstep. When EU and regional leaders convene in Tivat on 5 June, the difficult truth is that the door has not moved an inch since Croatia slipped through it in 2013. The Western Balkans are still queuing, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and S

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and Montenegro’s president, Jakov Milatović, at a press conference on 4th June in Cetinje. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images The following is the statement by EU Presidents von der Leyen, Costa, and Milatović at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Tivat, Montenegro. President Milatović, dear Jakov, Thank you very much for hosting us, my friend António Costa and me. It is wonderful to be back in Montenegro. We have now met with our

Pierre Crom/Getty Images. The United States’ 2026 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, released earlier this week, underscores a range of persistent and evolving threats to U.S national and international security. The report identifies several key state actors, including Russia, Iran, China, and Pakistan, as significant challenges to both domestic and international stability. In its evaluation of Russia’s relationship with European states, the assessme

WB30 welcomes the Vučić–Rama late February Op-Ed as a sign that the region's leaders are finally speaking with one voice — but urges the EU to think bigger: collective, full accession for all six Western Balkan states, now. Photo: Tanjug/Jadranka Ilic The joint op-ed published late last month in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is a landmark moment for Western Balkan diplomacy. For the first time, le

Charles Platiau / Reuters A spokesperson for the European Commission stated that the Commission is assisting Western Balkan countries in aligning with EU roaming regulations, a necessary step toward joining the EU roaming area. Following the Council of the European Union’s approval of a proposal to integrate the Western Balkan states into the EU’s “Roam Like at Home” framework, the Commission will begin negotiating agreements with the relevant countries. This initiative repre

Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP / dpa EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas used her annual address at the European Union Ambassadors Conference on Tuesday to make a pointed case for accelerating enlargement, describing it as "the antidote to Russian imperialism" and a sign that "the most ambitious multilateral project in history — the European Union — is here to stay." The remarks will be welcomed in Western Balkan capitals, where governments have long grown frustrated with an ac

Source: European Commission Dear Kaja, Secretary-General, dear Belén, Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen,   It is a pleasure to once again see so many of you here in the room. And I would like to start by thanking and paying tribute to all of those who could not be here in person. I am thinking in particular of those posted across the Middle East working round the clock to get European citizens back home, to liaise with our allies and partners in the region, and to keep our o