Main sources of current instability in the region and ways to mitigate them were elaborated during a lunch discussion, held in Brussels today, on the topic of BiEPAG’s recent report “The Crisis of Democracy in the Western Balkans. An Anatomy of Stabilitocracy and the Limits of EU Democracy Promotion”. The gathering was organised by Open Society European Policy Institute (OSEPI), in cooperation with European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) and Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) and it brought together representatives of the European Union institutions, Brussels-based diplomats, and donors’ and think-tanks’ representatives. The event was opened by Igor Bandovic, Senior Programme Manager at EFB and moderated by Srdjan Cvijic, Senior Policy Analyst at OSEPI and was an excellent opportunity for pointing the attention of the European opinion- and decision-makers to the current processes in the Western Balkans. The backsliding of democracy, the threats to the rule of law and media freedom, as well as possible interventions of the European Union in support of democratisation and in countering Russian influence in the region – were among the topics discussed.
