Results of the Scientific Conference: “The EU enlargement to the Western Balkans.”

On Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at the Amphitheatre of the Central Library of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (university campus), the Scientific Conference on: “The EU enlargement to the Western Balkans”, was successfully held.

The Conference was opened with the greetings of Professor emeritus and President of the Centre for European Legal Culture (C.E.L.C.), Mr. Petros Stagkos, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.U.T.H.), Mr. Panagiotis Glavinis, as well as Professor and Chair of the Faculty of Political Sciences of A.U.T.H., Mr. Ioannis Papageorgiou.

The initial session “The EU enlargement and the impact on the Western Balkans” reflected the theme of the scientific conference, with the participation of prominent personalities in the field, such as Mr. Dragan Tilev, State Counsellor for European Union (E.U.) Affairs and Coordinator at the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, Mr. Pedja Mitrovic, Consultant and Policy Analyst to the Government of Serbia, Mr. Ilir Melo, Director of the Department for Region and Neighbouring Countries of the Albanian Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, as well as Mr. Agon Batusha, Member of the Kossovo Assembly and the Committee on European Integration. The session was moderated by Professor, Mr. Ioannis Papageorgiou.

The session was followed by a round-table discussion on: “The Western Balkans accession – Challenges and opportunities for the EU and the Balkans.” Complementing the overall theme of the scientific conference, the discussion was attended by Ms. Anna Vezyroglu, Deputy Head of Unit of the European Commission (DG NEAR: European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations), by Mr. George Andreou, Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Political Sciences of A.U.T.H. and by the Professor, Mr. Ioannis Papageorgiou. The discussion was moderated by the Professor of the Faculty of Law of A.U.T.H., Ms. Lina Papadopoulou.

The video recording of the Scientific Conference is available here.