BiEPAG Blog

Reshuffling the Deck: 2024 Podgorica Snap Elections

This Sunday, 29 September 2024, Montenegro held snap local elections in Podgorica. Thirteen electoral lists competed for 59 seats in the City Assembly of the country’s capital (the mayor is elected by a majority of assembly members).

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About BiEPAG

The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG)

is a group of policy analysts, scholars and researchers, established as a joint initiative of the European Fund for the Balkans and the Centre for Southeast European Studies of the University of Graz with the aim to promote the European integration of the Western Balkans and the consolidation of democratic, open countries in the region. BiEPAG is composed of prominent policy researchers from the Western Balkans and all of Europe who have established themselves for their knowledge and understanding of the Western Balkans and the processes that shape the region.

"EXPLORE BiEPAG BiEPAG MEAMBERS

Four main methods are used in the BiEPAG’s work:

1.

Preparation of research-based proposals for policy measures aimed at the acceleration of reforms and at the democratisation of the Western Balkan countries, as well as at overcoming the enlargement hiatus inside the European Union.

2.

Dissemination of the recommendations and – with support from BiEPAG’s vast network of partners in the European Union and in the Western Balkan countries – the advocacy of the recommended measures at high-level meetings and in expert fora.

3.

Promotion of expert debate – bringing together policy and expert communities and stimulating the exchange of divergent views.

4.

Promotion and democratisation of public debate on topics relevant to the Europeanisation of the Western Balkans – through the BiEPAG blog, which brings together policy–makers, analysts and scholars to debate the most pressing issues in the region.

SERBIA
BiEPAG TO THE POINT

(Repeated) Municipal elections in Serbia

June 2 2024 - Serbia will hold repeated Belgrade elections and municipal elections in roughly 2/3 of the 145 towns and municipalities.

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PODCAST
BIEPAG PODCAST

Seriously Balkans

Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks is a podcast series that offers an in-depth analysis and background information to current events in the Balkans, as well as discussions with leading policy analysts on important new studies.Seriously Balkans is your regular update on what matters in the region, produced by the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group.

Podcast Archive
REACTS
BIEPAG REACTS

EU Commission recommendation to open membership talks

A political decision was made in Brussels to open membership talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina. This comes at a time when the EU is adopting a stronger and more direct approach to enlargement, moving ahead at a pace not seen in over a decade. It also comes just ahead of EU elections in June and should be read in a context where some progress in reforms among candidate countries is also a win for the outgoing Commission.

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GREEN
GREEN ENERGY TRANSITION

Geopolitics of the Green Energy Transition in the Western Balkans

The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group is conducting a comprehensive study on the geopolitics of the green energy transition in the Western Balkans.

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Publications

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Триаголник на (не)доверба - Проширувањето и блоговите на Унгарија во однос на Србија и Косово
Publication
Триаголник на (не)доверба - Проширувањето и блоговите на Унгарија во однос на Србија и Косово

24 April , 2024

Trekëndëshi i (mos)besimit - Aksionet e zgjerimit të Hungarisë në Serbi dhe Kosovë
Publication
Trekëndëshi i (mos)besimit - Aksionet e zgjerimit të Hungarisë në Serbi dhe Kosovë

24 April , 2024

Policy Brief - A triangle of (mis)trust - Hungary’s enlargement stakes in Serbia and Kosovo
Publication
Policy Brief - A triangle of (mis)trust - Hungary’s enlargement stakes in Serbia and Kosovo

24 April , 2024

Trougao (ne)poverenja - Madzarski ulog u prosirenju u Srbiji i na Kosovo
Publication
Trougao (ne)poverenja - Madzarski ulog u prosirenju u Srbiji i na Kosovo

24 April , 2024

Members

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Testemonials

BIEPAG has been since its inception an important voice advocating for the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union, and more broadly the Euroatlantic community. The scholars, researchers and policy experts it brings together and who hail from the region as well as from other European countries ensure a diversity of perspectives all focused on in-depth analysis going well beyond daily punditry. The fact that BIEPAG was an integral part of the Berlin Process and invited among other to present its findings to the leaders of Europe is testimony to its high relevance. The suggestions on ways to resolve key foreign and security policy and more generally societal and political challenges in the Western Balkans have been widely discussed in key governmental and non-governmental venues, in EU institutions and Western Balkans countries. BIEPAG continues to give a significant contribution to the necessary and essential debate on the further enlargement of the European Union.

@Ivan Vejvoda

In the difficult and uncertain situation that the Western Balkans are going through, expertise on the state of play and possible ways forward is more necessary than ever. This is precisely what the Balkans in Europe policy Advisory Group is providing, with rigor and fairness, through its policy and advocacy work. The scope of topics, the depth of the policy recommendations and critical approach are clear advantages of BIEPAG’s group of scholars, experts, and policy analysts. Their integrity and credibility are key, as it is an element of utmost importance for the relevance of the opinions, ideas and reflections presented in their work. BIEPAG’s perspectives and views are essential for helping the Balkans to move out of their stalemate. They are well accepted and recognized in the region, but even more in the EU member states. I hope that the European commission will draw from BIEPAG’s expertise in its policy recommendations.

@Pierre Mirel
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