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  • Andrei Soldatov
    Andrei Soldatov “The problem is to actually be able to prevent terrorist attacks, you need to have a really good and efficient system of intelligence sharing and intelligence gathering. Trust is needed inside the home agency and with agencies of other countries, as is good coordination. That's where you have problems.” 19 hours ago
  • Dmitry Peskov
    Dmitry Peskov “All war crimes [committed] by the Kyiv regime are thoroughly documented. We were well aware of these crimes. And, of course, we will make sure that those behind these crimes are duly punished.” 19 hours ago
  • Timothy Snyder
    Timothy Snyder “The terrorists' car was stopped near Bryansk, which is in western Russia, and so vaguely near Ukraine, which means that the four Tajiks in a Renault were intending to cross the Ukrainian border, which means that they had Ukrainian backers, which means that it was a Ukrainian operation, which means that the Americans were behind it. The reasoning here leaves something to be desired. And the series of associations rests on no factual basis.” 19 hours ago
  • Vladimir Putin
    Vladimir Putin “We have no aggressive intentions towards these states. The idea that we will attack some other country - Poland, the Baltic States, and the Czechs are also being scared - is complete nonsense. It's just drivel. If they supply F-16s, and they are talking about this and are apparently training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield. And we will destroy the aircraft just as we destroy today tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers. Of course, if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us legitimate targets, wherever they might be located.” 19 hours ago
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EU enlargement

Page with all the IPSEs stored in the archive related to the Context EU enlargement.
The IPSEs are presented in chronological order based on when the IPSEs have been pronounced.

“Open Balkan is our way forward on the road to the European Union. We agreed that our three countries would not be held hostage to the failure of the European Union to unblock our European integration process. That process can be stopped in Brussels, but the Europeanization and implementation of European values in Northern Macedonia, Serbia, and Albania have no reason to be on hold.”

author
Prime Minister of North Macedonia
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“This is a problem [citizens in the Western Balkans believing that they will never join the EU] because it removes the pressure on the elites to implement reforms. The results of recent elections in North Macedonia show to the elites in the region that, if one puts all eggs in one basket - the EU - one risks being punished by the voters. Without a political message and with the difficulty with the e-word (enlargement), the reports lose the power they once had. They have now become much more of a non-event. Which is a pity - they are in many ways better than five years ago.”

author
Professor at the University of Graz and member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG)
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“The delay on the adoption of the negotiating frameworks with Albania and North Macedonia had the consequences on the entire region… We don't want to lose the Balkans, and the citizens. The overall level of support (for EU enlargement) is still high, but it cannot be taken for granted.”

author
Acting Director-General of the Directorate General Neighbourhood and Enlargement
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“Bosnia also needs a strong reaffirmation of its European future - one that puts it clearly on a path towards EU membership. Since the country applied for EU membership in 2016, there has been no momentum-generating EU decision. Now is the time for the EU to grant Bosnia a candidate status. Failure to act early and decisively could invite pernicious actors to escalate their destabilising politics. If Bosnia is pushed over the edge, it will not be only its people that will suffer the consequences, but the whole of Europe.”

author
Associate professor at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Sarajevo
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“Serbia, negotiating its accession since 2014, has not opened any new chapters since December 2019. Montenegro, the frontrunner, is now carrying out talks on all EU dossiers, but there is no end in sight for that country either. Then, there is North Macedonia, which has been blocked from launching membership negotiations by its neighbour Bulgaria over a dispute about history and language. Albania, another hopeful, is a collateral damage because it is bundled together with the Macedonians. Bosnia and Kosovo are even further behind in the queue. Kosovars are frustrated that despite meeting all technical conditions they are still denied visa-free travel to the Schengen zone, unlike those living in the rest of the Western Balkans as well as post-Soviet republics such as Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. Europe, it seems, is keeping the region at an arms-length, while continuing to occasionally pay lip service to demands for enlargement.”

author
Europe’s Futures Fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna
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“Delays in the official start of membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia have a negative impact on the credibility of the EU. The pending bilateral issues between Bulgaria and North Macedonia should be resolved as a matter of priority. It is essential that EU Member States conclude discussions on the Negotiating Frameworks without further delay and that the first intergovernmental conferences with both countries be held as soon as possible and before the end of this year. Albania has achieved tangible results in judicial reform and the fight against crime, results have been achieved in the fight against corruption and crime. Macedonia has made progress in the reforms imposed by the EU, it has been determined in the fight against crime and corruption, this fight must continue.”

author
European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement
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“What's really alarming is that there is still no Plan B. The situation is… already deteriorating, we're already having to deal with new kinds of security, instability threats and still, the EU is not articulating any kind of post-enlargement vision for the region. Russia is very involved in Bosnia. It's explicitly said it opposes Bosnia's membership in NATO, that it considers it a threat to Russia's security interests, which is of course preposterous. But it tells you the extent to which Russia has now elevated this region in its foreign policy thinking.”

author
Political Scientist
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“Germany, as one of the strongest countries of the EU, will continue to be an actor in the process of the Western Balkans' accession to the Union and that it will contribute to the enlargement. This is particularly true for Serbia. Regardless of the relationship of trust between Angela Merkel and Aleksandar Vučić, it is in Germany's interest to be supported and surrounded by friends in the EU member states. Germany has an interest for Serbia to make progress on this path through the opening of funds, but it is clear that criteria such as democracy and the rule of law will be met.”

author
Representative of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Serbia
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“We want them [six Western Balkans states] in the European Union, we are one European family. We share the same history, we share the same values, and I'm deeply convinced we share the same destiny too. I know that still work has to be done, for example, on the rule of law, on the judiciary, on the freedom of the media, to name some. But I think we should also acknowledge the effort that has been done in the past and the progress that has been done.”

author
President of the European Commission
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“On that occasion, Chancellor Merkel especially pointed out that Montenegro is the most advanced country - a candidate for membership in the European Union, emphasizing the importance of the idea of ​​a common regional economic market, which, according to her, can benefit all Western Balkan countries. At the working lunch, the need to continue working within the Berlin Process in the coming years, as one of the most important diplomatic initiatives since 2014, whose goal is the enlargement of the European Union, was additionally emphasized.”

author
Statement by the Government of Montenegro
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“[Countries of the Western Balkans are part of the history of the EU, with whose members they share a common identity] That is why we must be committed to the EU enlargement process. Those countries want to become a part of the European family.”

author
President of the European Parliament
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“We started with six members, a now there are 27 of us, and even enlargement has made the EU better, as a union of ideas, solidarity, innovation and diversity. We know the European Union is important to the Western Balkans. But the Western Balkans are important to the EU. Together we can dear and build our European future for a better world.”

author
President of the European Council
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“Albania's request for the EU to approve as soon as possible, without hesitation, the negotiating framework for Albania and the date for the first Intergovernmental Conference is quite justifiable. It seems that Albania started the road to the EU yesterday. This is not true. I am giving some facts. The journey started in 1992 and it is not a race between states, the one who reaches the finish line is the first! The basic, old, unwavering principle of the EU is the merit of every candidate. This is the basic criterion, on which the candidates are evaluated. There is no other written criterion for 'group merit', 'group of states' or that 'states entering a group'.”

author
Albania's Chief Negotiator with the European Union
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“As a Prime Minister of a country whose citizens are being kept isolated by being denied visa liberalization, we understand the frustration of Albania and North Macedonia on the lack of progress on accession talks with the European Union but we must nevertheless commit strongly to EU integration, our democratization and economic development agenda for our citizens.”

author
Kosovo Prime Minister
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“All this makes what happens with the enlargement depends on the internal politics of Member states. When conditionality is undermined, the credibility is undermined. Unfortunately, I am tempted to say that we are about to see more of the same. Change would also require the better toolkit when it comes to offering solutions to the detected problems.”

author
Senior Policy Analyst with the European Policy Centre and a member of BiEPAG
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“The EU cannot be the world leader without taking the Balkans seriously. And the EU is not being taken seriously. I am saying this with sadness as an American, because the EU is our ally. If the EU aspires for strategic autonomy from the US, it needs to solve the issue of Balkans first.”

author
Professor at the Johns Hopkins Institute
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