Leaving Europe’s Waiting Room. Overcoming the Crisis of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans

This conference will discuss the obstacles and approaches to accelerate and reinvigorate the enlargement process. Instead of viewing enlargement as a state fullfilling formal criteria, the conference will focus on how and if the enlargement process can overcome "enlargement fatigue" and skepticism towards membership of the Western Balkans in the EU to key aspects that the enlargement process both hopes to overcome and which risk remaining an obstacle for EU membership. The conference in particular seeks to give room to young researchers who are able to contribute rich empirical work to the discussion.
As an interdisciplinary event, the conference will include policy makers, lawyers, political scientists, sociologists and scholars from other disciplines.

AGENDA

November 9th, 2012

14:00 - Conference Registration

14:30 - 15:00 - Introduction and Welcome
- Christa Neuper, Rector of the University of Graz
- Joseph Marko, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Graz
- Florian Bieber, Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies

15:00-16.00 - Keynote Speech: Gjorge Ivanov, President of the Republic of Macedonia

Moderation
Adelheid Wölfl, Der Standard

16:00 - 17:30 Making EU Enlargement Work--How to reinvigorate the accession process?

Panel Chair
Adelheid Wölfl, Der Standard

Discussants
- Allan Jones, Deputy Head of Unit for Enlargement Strategy & Policy, DG Enlargement , European Commission
- Stefan Lehne, Visiting Scholar at Carnegie Europe in Brussels
- Jelko Kacin, MEP, Delegation for relations with SEE
- Milica Delević, President of the Committee for European Integration of the National Assembly, Serbia

17:30 - 17:45 Coffee Break

17:45 - 19:15 Panel II: Making EU Enlargement Work--How to reinvigorate the accession process?: An Academic Perspective

Chair
Florian Bieber, Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz

Presenters
 - Davide Denti, College of Europe, Belgium
Current results and ways forward. An assessment of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) in the Western Balkans
- Adam Fagan, Queen Mary, University of London, UK
Making enlargement work again: reforming pre-accession assistance in Kosovo
- Vela Blerim, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands
Making EU Enlargement Work--How to reinvigorate the accession process?
- Milada Vachudova, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
State Power, National Interests and EU Enlargement: Taking A Second Look Ten Years Later

November 10th, 2012

9:00 - 10:45 Panel III: EU Conditionality Before Membership: Membership Conditionality vs. Policy Conditionality

Chair
Norbert Mappes-Niediek, journalist

Presenters
- Sokol Dedja, University of Ghent, Belgium
How does the EU compel an aspirant country to curb illegal migration? Mechanisms of external influence
- Nikolaos Tzifakis, Efstathios T. Fakiolas, University of Peloponnese, Greece
EU Enlargement Policy in Bosnia and Kosovo: Devoid of Substance and Perspective?
- Ruth Ferrero Turrión, Universidad Complutense, Spain
Political Agenda of Enlargement towards Western Balkans or Security based Agenda?
- Dorian Jano, Marin Barleti University, Albania
The Politics of EU Enlargement Revisited. What conditions matters in the case of EU Enlargement South-East?

10:45 - 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 - 12:45 Panel IV: Bilateral Disputes and Regional Cooperation

Chair
Andreas Ernst, NZZ

Presenters
- Elena Basheska, SEE University, Macedonia
How to Break the Deadlock of Bilateral Disputes in the Western Balkans: In the Search of the Meaning of ‘Bilateral’
- Pëllumb Kallaba, Kosovar Center for Security Studies, Kosovo
Permanent Structured Cooperation in the Western Balkans as a model towards EU accession
- Irena Ristic, Institute of Social Sciences, Serbia, Visiting Research Fellow, Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung, Regensburg
Formal Rules before Readymade Solutions: Overcoming the Lack of Legitimacy in Bilateral Negotiations
- George Triantafyllou, University of Kent, UK
Breaking the Deadlock of Bilateral Disputes in the Western Balkans: Mediation from Abroad or Negotiation from Within?

12:45 - 14:15 Lunch

14:15 - 16:00 Panel V: The Economic Crisis as a Crisis of Enlargement

Chair
TBC

Presenters
- Vladimir Gligorov, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies
Title TBC
- Dušan Pavlović, Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade,Serbia
The Budget Dilemma: Proportional Representation and Economic Policy Outcomes – Evidence from Serbia and Croatia
- Ritsa Panagiotou, Centre of Planning and Economic Research, Greece
The European Union’s Balkan Enlargement: How Will it be Affected by the Global Economic Crisis?
- Franz-Lothar Altmann, UNESCO Dpt. for International & Intercultural Relations, Bucharest State University
The Economic Crisis and Enlargement - Could it be a Chicken or Egg Question?

16:00 - 16:15 Coffee Break

16:15 - 18:00 Panel VI: Closing Difficult Chapters: Rule of Law and Judiciary

Chair
Marko Kmezić, Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz

Presenters
- Dimitry Kochenov, University Groningen, Department of European and Economic Law
Enlargement Regulation and the Rule of Law
- Memeti Ardit, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands
Judicial Reform and the Rule of Law Enforcement in the Western Balkans: A Key to the EU Accession Process
- Ivo Tsekov, University “St. Clement Ohridsky”, Bulgaria
The rule of law as prerequisite for EU integration: lessons from the Bulgarian judiciary reform
- Robin Liddell, Head of Section for Political & Justice and Home Affairs Issues, Information and Communication, EU Delegation, Macedonia
Title TBC
- Tobias Flessenkemper, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin
Lessons Learnt from the EU Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzgovina

18:00 -18:45 Keynote Speech: Enver Hoxhaj, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kosovo

November 11th, 2012

9:30 - 11:15 Panel VII: Regional Cooperation and is There a Need for a new Big Bang?

Chair
Christan Wehrschütz, ORF

Presenters
- Jovan Teokarević, Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade
The Regional Cooperation in the Western Balkans: In Search of a New Approach
- Senada Šelo Šabić, Institute for International Relations, Croatia
Fortress Europe vs. Regional Cooperation? A new kind of teamwork: strengthening borders and collaboration
- Adnan Huskić, University of Graz, Austria
Assessing the likelihood of the change of policy of the European Union towards the remainder of Western Balkans

11:15 - 11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 - 13:00 Concluding Round Table: Making Enlargement Work

Chair
- Tim Judah, The Economist

Discussants
- Dimitar Bechev, European Council on Foreign Relations
- Kristof Bender, European Stability Initiative
- Ilir Dugoli, Ambassador of Kosovo in Brussels
- Dejan Jović, Faculty of Political Science, Zagreb

The working language of the conference is English

Attendance is free of charge

INFO
University of Graz
suedosteuropa@uni-graz.at
To register send e-mail providing: name, affiliation, and contact information by 31 October