Vienna, Austria, June 27, 2020 - The Study Group Information from the 39th Workshop of PfPC’s Regional Stability in South East Europe Study Group is now available online. It's composed of articles from the workshop titeled “Croatia’s Upcoming EU Presidency – A Catalyst for South East Europe?” that took place in Split, Croatia, 26th - 29th September 2019.

Thirty-one experts from the southeast European region and other parts of Europe, international organizations and major stakeholder nations met under the umbrella of the PfPC and the Austrian Ministry of Defence. The Institute for Development and International Relations a regional partner from Zagreb, also supported the workshop.

Croatia, which accessed the European Union (EU) in July 2013, is the youngest EU member state. As one of the political consequences of Brexit it was about to assume its first Presidency of the EU Council already in January 2020. For a small state, the Presidency is an extraordinary opportunity to contribute to various EU policies by setting adequate and implementable priorities for the first half of 2020. Beside dealing with overall challenges important for the EU (e.g. consequences of the Brexit, digitalization, climate changes etc.), it has been expected that the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council will undoubtedly invest an additional effort in improving the recently deteriorating enlargement perspectives of its Western Balkan neighbors. They still face large challenges about fulfilling “Copenhagen Criteria” and reaching constructive intra-regional relations in South East Europe, in particular in the Western Balkans.

You can download the complete Study Group Information as PDF here.

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About the Landesverteidigungsakademie of the Austrian Ministry of Defence

Our partner in the region: The Institute for Development and International Relations

Look at PfPC's RSSEE study group