- September 22, 2020
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- January 28, 2023
On September 22, 2020 the Aspen Institute Germany hosted a background discussion on the current situation in the Western Balkans between representatives of the German Government and staffers of the German Bundestag. Claudia Brinkmann, European Relations with EU Member States, EU Enlargement, External Relations at the German Federal Chancellery, Sascha Fuzul, Division EC4 – EU-Enlargement, Southeastern Europe, Turkey at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Alexander Jung, Deputy Head of Division 212 Bilateral Relations to the Countries of Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and Central Asia at the German Federal Chancellery, Christiane Hullmann, Head of Division 209 Western Balkans at the German Federal Foreign Office, and Thomas Motak, Deputy Head of Division E12, EU External Affairs (EU Enlargement, European Neighbourhood Policy, EU External Financing Instruments) at the German Federal Foreign Office, shared their assessments of the situation in the region from the perspective of their respective divisions and presented the initiatives and challenges for the next months. The discussion focused on the priorities of Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the EU accession processes, in particular regarding the negotiating framework with Albania and North Macedonia. Another topic was the recent elections in the Western Balkans and their impact on the EU accession processes of the respective countries as well as the overall political and economic situation in the region. The event is part of a series of regular background discussions to enable regular exchanges on current priorities and challenges in the Western Balkans.
