The events of the next six months in the Western Balkans will be decisive for the future of the EU. Preservation of the stability in the region will put the cohesion of the integration to the test as well. The challenges facing the EU today in the region are numerous, and most importantly include a resolution of Kosovo's status; accelerating the signing of Stabilisation and Association Agreements where scheduled; and strengthening the commitment to reforms in all candidate and potential candidate countries. All the while, in the face of such challenges, the EU needs to stand firm and united.

Program:

February 22:

9:30 a.m. Welcome (Auditorium)
Kinga Göncz (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hungary)
Angelika Schwall-Duren (Deputy Faction Leader, SPD, Germany)

10:30 a.m. Section I (Popper Room): EU Accession Perspectives of the Western-Balkan Countries - Enlargement as seen from outside the EU

1:30 p.m. Section II (Popper Room): Impacts of Potential Enlargements

4:00 p.m. Section III (Popper Room)
Enlargement and New Member States - The New Perspectives

February 23

9:30 Section IV (Popper Room): The Future of Kosovo

To download the full program please go to:
http://web.ceu.hu/cens/assets/files/conference/Western_Balkans_program

Participants:

Haris Abaspahic (ACIPS Center for Policy Research, Bosnia Herzegovina)
Péter Balazs (CEU)
Ana-Maria Boromiska (Institute for International Relations, Croatia )
Slobodan Chashule (Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Macedonia)
András Deak (Hungarian Institute of International Affairs Russia and Kosovo)
Vlado Dimovski (University of Ljubljana)
Michael Ehrke (Director, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung)
Vladimir Gligorov (Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies)
Kinga Goncz (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hungary)
Istvan Gyarmati (International Center for Democratic Transition)
Péter Gyorkos (Ambassador of Hungary in Croatia)
Jiri Kalasnikov (Stability Pact, Director of Working Table III)
Leon Malazogu (Kosovo Institute for Policy Research and Analysis)
Leon Marc (Head of South-East European Division, MFA, Slovenia)
Stefan Messman (CEU)
Albert Rakipi ( Director, Albanian Institute for International Studies)
Dusan Reljic (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
Sandor Richter (Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies)
Angelika Schwall-Duren (Deputy Faction Leader, SPD, Germany)
Istvan Szent-Ivanyi (Member of the European Parliament TBC)
Csaba Tabajdi (Member of the European Parliament )
Vessela Tcherneva (Center for Liberal Strategies, Bulgaria)

Location:
Central European University
Nador u. 9.
Budapest, Hungary