OSIS participated in the “EU enlargement and the Netherlands” scoping trip, which 28-29 November 2024 in The Hague. The event included a series of meetings with Dutch officials, members of parliament, policy-makers and experts regarding the position of the Netherlands government and the attitudes in Dutch society on the EU enlargement process as well as the deliberations on EU institutional reform to meet the challenge of an enlarged EU. Organized and hosted by the Clingedael Institute as part of the cooperation with notable think tanks in the EU – i.e. “Balkan Hubs” – including DGAP in Germany, Jacques Delors Institute in France, Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands, and Carnegie Europe. Previous such events took place in Berlin and in Paris, organized by respectively DGAP and Jacques Delors Institute.
The visit also included a public event Conference: The Netherlands and EU enlargement in New (Geo)Political Times, held on 29 November 2024. The context of the conference was that two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine had spurred new geopolitical momentum for EU enlargement, the Netherlands and the EU faced pivotal choices about the future of the policy. Several candidates had progressed in the process, with Albania most recently opening accession negotiations on the fundamentals cluster. However, pertinent questions remained about the desired modus operandi of enlargement, as well as the future of the European Union and potential related EU reforms.
This invite-only conference gathered Members of Parliament, diplomats, policymakers, experts, journalists, and other practitioners to explore the state of EU enlargement with the Western Balkans, focusing on the interests and priorities of the Netherlands, the candidates for EU enlargement, and the future of the EU. The event also examined the technicalities of the process, assessed the functioning of the current methodology, explored the opportunities and challenges of gradual integration, and considered the potential for introducing Qualified Majority Voting in the intermediate stages of the process.
OSIS participation at the conference was part of the Think Tanks for the Future of EU Enlargement Program (https://thenextmile.eu/)and the cooperation with notable think tanks in the EU – i.e. “Balkan Hubs” – including DGAP in Germany, Jacques Delors Institute in France, Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands, and Carnegie Europe, and cooperation with the Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans.
