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Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The further enlargement of the European Union is in a critical phase due to the changed political circumstances both internally in the EU member states, but also in the geopolitical context. The experiences from the past cycles of enlargement, both positive and negative, motivated some of the member states and the European institutions to revise the process of the European integration of the candidate countries, primarily the accession negotiations as a central part of the process, by setting the Rule of Law as a fundamental and most important criterion for the accession. The Rule of Law is set as a crosscutting issue in the new revised Methodology for the accession negotiations, adopted in 2020. It is part of the first cluster “Fundamentals” with which the accession negotiations start and end. The paper analyzes the current situation and challenges in the area of the Rule of Law in North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania, all of them candidate countries from the region of the Western Balkans, following the 2024 Rule-of-Law Report prepared by the European Commission that included beside the member states, also the mentioned candidate countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Union's response during the worst contemporary refugee crisis of 2015 was unreliable, fragmented, and it largely affected the Western Balkan countries that are now aspiring to become EU Member States. The crisis has emphasized the urgent need for a consistent approach, both from the individual Member States and the EU as a whole. This paper analyses how the EU's response to the refugee crisis has affected its migration and asylum policy and how it contributed towards the reforms presented in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. The paper presents an overview of the Common European Asylums System, its adjustments throughout the years and the need for a broader and comprehensive reform. It also analyses the impact of the 2015 refugee crisis on the countries on the Western Balkan route and argues that the EU reforms of its migration and asylum policy will contribute towards strengthening the partnership between the EU and the Western Balkan countries in the area of migration and asylum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granting state aid to market players while ensuring compliance with the internal market requirements, as derived from the European Union (EU) acquis, seems to be a challenging exercise for the Western Balkans. As an integral part of the competition rules (Cseres & Reyna, 2021) state aid requirements proved to be a challenge, especially at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of the state efforts to keep alive certain key sectors of the economy (Bouchagiar, 2021). As an EU requirement and Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) legal obligation became even more important. Struggling between the need to save the market while respecting the state aid rules, Western Balkans seem to have to pay more and closer attention to this field. This is why this paper, through an analytical and descriptive approach, intends to address such shortcomings and challenges in light of the efforts to enhance the harmonization of the legislation while ensuring its due application. Enforcing state aid rules requires professional and independent capacities within the relevant state aid authorities an objective remaining far from reach in the Western Balkans. The paper provokes further debates and analysis in the scholarly efforts to shed light on this sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Western Balkan economies are still on the list of EU candidates or potential candidate countries, they do have some integration with EU economies. The EU is the leading trading partner of the Western Balkans and is one of the top destinations for the flow of people. The Western Balkan economies have been trying to address their populations' ongoing emigration (the so-called "brain drain" phenomenon) by implementing targeted economic policies. Since one of the main contributors to economic growth is the ability to create innovation, it is crucial to building innovation potential. The main challenge for innovation policy is to provide a favourable environment for entrepreneurship and economic growth to create jobs. Thus, this paper aims to examine innovation potential - an innovation input - as it creates the conditions needed for innovation development. The results of analysing the data (on research and development spending, human resources, an environment friendly to innovation, and intellectual property rights) indicate that the Western Balkan countries are lagging behind the EU in many aspects of innovation potential, so they should still develop their strategies towards creating higher innovation potential. Thus, they will be able to have a higher level of innovation and, as a result, be more competitive in economic terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Problems of Sustainable Development / Problemy Ekorozwoju is the property of Faculty of Environmental Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents the theoretical treatment of the content of the principles on which the Public Administration Reform was built in the Western Balkans countries, led by the European Union. In addition, the principles contained in the EU regulations and which are included in the form of objectives in the Public Administration Reform Strategy in the Western Balkans countries, the claims to join the EU, if we analyse them carefully are derived or adapted from the principles of Weber's theory on Bureaucracy. Since Public Administration Reform is a process closely related to the organization and that of institutions as state organizations with the aim of modernizing them on the same principles as Weber, the idea of the ideal bureaucracy, so that such a bureaucracy should be based on: A formal hierarchical structure; Rules-based Management; Functional Specialty organization; Up-focused or In-focused Mission; Impersonal and Employment-based on Technical Qualifications. It is important that the same principles in which Weber calls for the modern organization of institutions as organizations, but also based on which the idea for Public Administration Reform in the Western Balkans countries was built, to analyse under what preconditions can be reached their realization in practice. Analysing the actions of the states of the Western Balkans to fulfil or not these principles, the weight of the Public Administration Reform process for the development of the institutions of these states will be concluded, the democratization of the societies will be measured, but at the same time it will be tested through these examples as well Weber's Theory of Bureaucracy, and its relevance in the twenty-first century. In order to carry out the work in question, secondary data were used, including scientific literature, reports on the subject from competent institutions, but also analysis from researchers and experts who deal with research and monitoring of the implementation process of the Reform in the Public Administration of the Western Balkans countries. This work will serve to raise the voice for a qualitative reformation in the centre with the citizen as the key cause for the need of such a process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The main goal of the paper is to define the level of energy efficiency in the economies of selected countries in the Balkan region that have opted for the EU Green Deal, a circular economy, and a transition to carbon neutrality. Energy efficiency, as a determinant of carbon neutrality, was selected as an indicator for analysis because it records particularly unfavorable indicators in the region under observation. The research was carried out on a sample of seven Balkan countries and their surrounding areas. An initial qualitative analysis was followed by a quantitative analysis based on a combination of statistical methods and soft computing. Six indicators were selected for the analysis covering a period of 30 years (1990–2020). Results: A significant obstacle to the green transition and the region's transition to a circular economy and carbon neutrality is energy efficiency and energy related pollution—the reliance of most countries on coal-fired thermal power plants for electricity generation. The research results showed the following: (a) the degree of economic development and membership in the European Union are not significantly related to the level of energy efficiency; (b) most of the sampled countries are in the initial stages of introducing activities to achieve carbon neutrality; and (c) only Slovenia has documented consistent indicators and evident advancements in its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality. Based on the research findings, proposals for improvements were made in the direction of policymaking and in a methodological sense. Conclusions: The implementation of circularity and carbon neutrality as a long-term goal of the European Union is not necessarily related to the level of economic development, nor can its trajectory be exclusively ascertained by means of data processing and monitoring. A more precise understanding of a carbon-neutral future can be achieved through the incorporation of qualitative data to a greater extent, a realistic evaluation of historical facts and their repercussions, as well as projections of the effects that reality and global developments after 2022 will have on each country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this paper is irregular migration and modern models of preventing the smuggling of migrants on the part of the Western Balkan route through the Republic of Serbia. The goal is to show how the new strategic approach of the Serbian police in this area can give excellent results, that the application of modern methods of policing and technical means are aimed at preventing the smuggling of migrants, i.e., the illegal movement and transport of migrants across the state border and state territory to go to countries of the European Union. Based on the conducted research, the authors have drawn certain conclusions: 1) effectiveness, efficiency, and economy in the area of suppression of irregular migration can be achieved by applying an adequate criminal strategy, 2) the new strategic approach led to the discovery and arrest of a large number of people smugglers and the discovery of illegal firearms, 3) the use of modern technical means, coordinated, joint work of different police units and management from a single center by a strategic level manager directly in charge of combating irregular migration and human smuggling in a particular area (territory) which is estimated to be a hotspot of criminal activity, is a prerequisite for success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to compare the relative technical efficiency of agriculture in Western Balkan countries to those of the European Union and to propose ways to improve the position of Western Balkan countries. The group of Western Balkan countries includes Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania, which are candidate countries for European Union membership, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is currently a potential candidate. An input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis model with the variable return to scale was applied to an 11-year period from 2006 to 2016. Input variables used in the model included labour, land, and capital, and the output was presented as the value of agricultural production. The highest average technical efficiency was achieved by the EU15 countries for the entire eleven-year period, while the Western Balkan countries had the lowest score. The source of this inefficiency was identified in lower levels of agricultural performance, e.g. a lower-level use of the primary production factors - labour and land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we address the issues of the countries of the Western Balkans related to the accession to the European Union. We focus on areas to which we have so far had the opportunity to obtain information on the countries belonging to the Western Balkans region. In our paper, we aim to introduce the region of the Western Balkans in more detail and look at the arguments that support the integration of countries into the EU. For the European Union, but also for the countries of the Western Balkans, to point out what enlargement policy is like and what the benefits are. From a methodological point of view, we classify the paper among qualitative research, using a descriptive, comparative and analytical method. As part of enlargement policy, it can be seen that this policy is constantly changing. It can be said that nothing is more permanent than change, which brings with it benefits as well as certain challenges and benefits, which we want to point out in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper primarily analyzes the classification of international organizations according to different criteria to see the specificity of the EU as a sui generis international organization. The authors specifically examine the legal order of the EU and the process of achieving full membership. They are interested in the EU accession process, particularly for countries in the Western Balkans like Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is covered by the Stabilization and Association Agreement. Candidate countries have access to various EU funds, which the authors analyze as pre-accession assistance. The study assesses Bosnia and Herzegovina's status in European integration and delves into the use of IPA funds in the country, including its withdrawal, scope, and limitations. The authors emphasize the importance of IPA funds for Bosnia and Herzegovina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hospital Pharmacology: International Multidisciplinary Journal is the property of Serbian Medical Society, Section for Clinical Pharmacology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Many authors process of the enlargement of the European Union (hereafter the EU) have called both technical and political one. In fact, there is a wide range of criteria that an aspirant country for EU integration must meet to achieve membership of the EU. These criteria, known as the Copenhagen and Amsterdam Criteria, include the criteria that fall into the domain of politics, economics, jurisprudence and administrative domain. However, EU member states themselves are being negatively identified in such areas, and on the other hand, there are countries outside the EU that even though meet the criteria for advancement in the integration stages, remain pending as a result of geopolitics. So, the integration process itself, involves a complex, multi-stage interaction of meeting the criteria, internal dynamics of the EU and regional and the international geopolitical constellations. This paper aims to deal with EU-Kosovo relations, namely Kosovo's integration but also mentioning the cases of other Western Balkan states in the EU, analyzing the EU's enlargement technique and geopolitics, vis-a-vis Western Balkan countries with emphasis on Kosovo as a sui generis case due to the non-recognition of Kosovo's independence from five EU states. For the implementation of this paper is imposed the use of analytical-synthesis, historical, documentation and comparative methods for analyzing the periodic reports of EU institutions measuring the progress of Kosovo in certain areas throughout the process so far and comparing with other countries which are in different membership phases. As a result of the work, I intend to provide a realistic overview of Kosovo's current position in the EU integration process and its perspective in this process taking into account current international developments, which is very important to analyze for the fact that there is quiescence in the opinion and in fact even of the local institutions on the topic in question. I pretend to bring in this paper the same results of analyses for all Western Balkans states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Balkans have faced many challenges in the last two decades. Thus the path of socio-economic progress has not been easy at all. Continuous efforts over time in the arena were made to reduce the gap in the integration path toward the EU. Year 2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the European economy was placed in a new economic position. Unlike other known crises, dealing with such an unknown visa, social reactions, cultural conflicts, and the many restrictions that were imposed as a security measure affected the socio-economics of the EU states, questioning the degree of real convergence between the EU states and those of the Western Balkans. The purpose of this paper is to know the effect of the global and covid crisis on the convergence of the Western Balkan states as well as the convergence between the EU states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proceeding from the premise that international statebuilding mechanisms are frequently used by the European Union (EU), particularly in Western Balkan states, this paper critically examines the effects from this effort, taking into consideration the Macedonian example. The focus of this analysis is on a specific phase of the prolonged statebuilding effort, evaluating the interaction among EU and Macedonia in the context of the so-called Przino process. The research reveals that EU's approach to statebuilding through prioritizing regional stability and sustaining of status-quo situation in the state, even though it created a temporary stabilization of the internal political crisis; however, the political self-regulation's capacity of EU candidate - member state is being problematized. The Macedonian experience, seen through the Przino process, shows that the applied mechanisms are transforming the state's political order to a certain degree and are also problematizing the principle of popular sovereignty. Instead of strengthening institutions, non-institutional practices and entities are being established, that go beyond the state's constitutional framework in certain aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Environmental policy of the European Union has largely contributed to the diffusion and strengthening of International environmental law, and has yielded a relatively wide harmonization of high standards in this area among the Member States, as well as among countries that strive to become fully-fledged members of the EU. The Green Agenda for the Western Balkans is an example to that end. As a growth strategy, it aims at stimulating growth in the region and helping the transformation from the traditional economic model to a sustainable economy, in line with the European Green Deal priorities. Therefore, this paper will look at to what extent has the regional environmental governance network, precisely the cooperation with the European Environmental Agency (EEA), fostered alignment with the EU Environmental policy by Montenegro as the EU candidate country. The cooperation between Montenegro and the European Environmental Agency dates back to more than a decade ago, and it has been formalised by signing a Memorandum of Understanding on October 23, 2020, which represented a step towards full membership of the country in the EEA. Cooperation with the EEA also increases the possibility of access to European funds, which will be used to invest in green technologies and renewable energy sources. The adoption, implementation and enforcement of the EU acquis on Environment, is at the same time, a condition that the Western Balkan countries must meet in order to satisfy criteria set by the accession negotiations. In addition, the Western Balkan countries as signatories to the Paris Agreement have pledged to restructure their economies in order to achieve the goals set in the agreement. This is particularly relevant having in mind the EU aspirations to become the first climate-neutral society by 2050. To this end, and having special sensitivity towards the challenges the region of Western Balkans is facing, the Union has committed generous resources to the Western Balkans green transition. Hence, the assistance provided by the EU will depend on the quality of the preparatory work done. Therefore, the practical aspect of this paper will be to draw attention to the importance of the EU support in this area, but also to highlight the genuine responsibility and effort expected from Montenegro as a case study, to develop high quality and sustainable projects leading to restructuring its economy into a green one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015–16, Europe witnessed the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Over a million people moved via different migration routes. The key route was the Balkan corridor running from Turkey, via Greece, to Central, Western and Northern Europe. The aim of this paper is to describe the development and changes in the route and provide an analysis of transit via Balkan countries, looking at factors that influenced the shape of the corridor. This refugee crisis was challenging for European countries and the whole European Union (EU). This corridor was unique, being de facto formalized semi‐legal territory, which the EU had never faced before. An official reaction to the crisis was necessary due to the substantial number of people who were on the move, seeking to cross the Balkan countries in the fastest manner possible. Therefore, the response was focused on arranging transport and providing only short‐term accommodation. This paper uses the PESTLE framework to examine the key political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental aspects that influenced the Balkan corridor, as well as changes in the route over time and responses to them. The role of the media in shaping the corridor is also acknowledged, thus resulting in a PESTLE‐M framework. Findings from the research are important, as it is likely that the EU will face a similar crisis in the near future. Therefore, there is a need to prepare and develop a plan in case such a situation arises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of New Economist / Novi Ekonomist is the property of University of East Sarajevo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Croatian & Comparative Public Administration is the property of Institut za Javnu Upravu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The European Union (EU) is the dominant political and economic influence in the Western Balkan (WB) region, but in the view of many of the region's citizens, EU integration is associated with strict and painful convergence criteria and burdensome reforms as well as the inertia of unfulfilled accession requirements. China's involvement in the region is focused mainly on much-needed but controversial infrastructure investments; accordingly, it has attracted increasing international attention over the past decade. At the same time, Turkey, the Arab States, and Russia have also shown heightened interest in the region. This paper addresses the important geopolitical question of whether a mutually-beneficial relationship for all participants is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The European Commission (EC), based on the European Green Deal (2019) and the Recovery plan for Europe (2021), envisages investing 30% of the budget in climate-related programs, projects, and initiatives, which clearly shows Europe's commitment to becoming the first climate-neutral region by 2050. Activities are also planned for countries that are not members of the European Union (EU), which require complex changes in the field of legislation, strategic planning, implementation, and monitoring. To successfully plan short-term and long-term activities on these grounds, it is necessary to have a realistic picture of the state of climate change in each country—as they spill over into the entire region of Europe. The main objective of this paper is to answer the following questions: (i) is climate change observed in Western Balkans? (ii) how are certain sectors vulnerable to climate change in Western Balkans? (iii) what are the climate change adaptation strategies in the six countries of the Western Balkans? The answers to these questions can help in planning activities and initial alignment of Western Balkan countries with the EU plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Main body: The main results of the research show that in all countries of the region, the average annual temperature increased by 1.2 °C compared to 1970, with stabilization and the beginning of the decline which can be expected around 2040. The main reasons for climate change in the region are: industry, energy, and heating sector based on coal exploitation, low energy efficiency, etc. Conclusions: It can be concluded that Croatia as a member of the EU has adopted, and other five Western Balkans countries are in the process of adopting the necessary regulations and strategies towards climate change mitigation, but the implementation of specific activities is at a low level. The reason for this most often lies in the insufficient commitment of decision-makers to make significant changes in the field of climate change transition (lower level of economic development, lack of investment, and preservation of social peace). Finally, this paper provides an overview of climate change by country, scenario analysis, and policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) revived the enlargement process in response to the Russia-Ukraine war. That reaction compares to how the EU utilized this process following the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s. In this paper, we argue that on neither occasion was the inclusion of more states within EU borders a preferred EU working agenda. Instead, the EU used enlargement as a stabilization and security-building mechanism without guaranteeing membership as the end state. This observation has implications for the future of the enlargement process. We argue that the outcome of the previous rounds of enlargement was reactive and context-driven. Absent those same contextual factors, and although the EU reacts to the Russia-Ukraine war in a familiar sequence of incomplete decision-making, the outcome of this wartime enlargement negotiation process points in a different direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the research paper is to present empirical results on a tested framework of factors influencing selected frontier stock markets of the Western Balkan countries in their accession path to the European Union. These stock markets are juxtaposed with the frontier stock market of Bulgaria - a country full member of the EU in the course of 11 years now, thereby inferring important comparative conclusions. Based on the comparative analysis between the capital markets in Southern and Eastern Europe (including that of Bulgaria), the paper proposes tentative insights into the road ahead for future regional integration and financial development of the capital markets of the Western Balkans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the enormous inflow of international assistance to the Western Balkans over the last 25 years, the intended state-building efforts have only had partial success and great concerns have been raised over the problems of state capture, weak governance, poor rule of law and widespread corruption at a high level throughout the region. The paper identifies the patterns of international assistance and examines the extent to which donor aid allocations have been driven by concerns for recipients' need and merit, or by donor self-interest. The analysis reveals that while donor allocations have on the whole reflected need, they have not reflected merit to the same extent, suggesting that international assistance may have facilitated domestic political elites' engagement in practices of rent-seeking and state capture. With a few exceptions, EU donors and EU Institutions have not allocated their aid to motivate adherence to EU norms in candidate and potential candidate states in the region. The paper concludes that the 'Samaritans dilemma' is alive and well in the Western Balkans, and that donors have chosen to mostly overlook poor governance behaviour among recipients in order to prioritise assistance to the neediest countries while pursuing their own foreign policy concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an economic policy, currency substitution – the use of a foreign currency in lieu of a domestic currency – is rarely associated with nationalism. This is due to a natural tendency to equate nationalism with economic mercantilism and with the political need to foster nationalist feelings among the population. This need not to be the case, though, as the case of the newly independent Montenegro demonstrates. How can we explain the apparent inconsistency between nationalist leaders fighting for independence and opting to use the currency of the European Union (EU), the quintessential supra-national entity? This paper suggests that conventional explanations need to be complemented with a contextual historical analysis of nationalism. By incorporating the fluid and multifaceted nature of nationalism which, in the hands of skilful political elites, can be reframed to include apparently contradictory positions, I suggest that euroisation has been extremely consistent with nationalist goals. As the content and directionality of nationalist discourse shifted, the euro was transformed into a symbol of national identity in this Newly Independent Country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At its 30th anniversary, the Maastricht Treaty remains a milestone in the history and practice of the European Union. This referring to the adhesion process, since the set of conditions that a country must accomplish have been settled and derived by the treaty, but also for the fact that now, after 20 years of entering in force, the Euro, the Union currency, has performed and faced different consecutive challenges, thus becoming observable concerning it effects and role, and as a consequence, its theoretical and practical validity. But there is yet a vast area, in the center of Europe, that is still dragging on its calvary of adhesion, that of the Western Balkans. At this point, considering the processes that the countries of this area have been going through, by pursuing the adhesion path, the analysis of the dominating factors that have determined the trajectory of their EU membership, becomes essential. The paper questions and analyses the validity of the Maastricht Treaty and subsequent criteria for the adhesion of the Western Balkan countries, as well as highlights on the 'adhoc' criteria and evaluations often applied during the process and their consequences in terms of the attitudes of the Balkan populations and their determination toward the EU and the Western Balkans adhesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to analyse the security environment at the beginning of the XXIst century and to assess the impact of EU conditionality in the Western Balkans. The paper will analyse the redistribution of power and the new challenges that send the European Union at a crossroad. To explain such complex phenomena, we will use a comprehensive framework based on realism, liberal institutionalism, and constructivism. The central part of the paper will analyse EU conditionality in the Western Balkans - along with its characteristics, particularities, difficulties - and the impact of the degree of sovereignty. The case-study will provide a comparative analysis between EU conditionality in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria proving that sovereignty matters for the conditionality-compliance relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine university students' attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development and towards the need for the implementation of education for sustainable development into the higher education system. To that end, the paper explores in a process-oriented focus which drivers and barriers are experienced as being the most important ones and how they relate to one another. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on the questionnaire for the evaluation of attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development. This instrument consists of 9 batteries with 83 items presented in the form of the five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire evaluated different aspects of respondents' attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development, but students' attitudes in relation to the items from the following subscales will be presented for this paper: understanding the concept of sustainable development, position of sustainable development in the system of higher education, sources of information about sustainable development and entities responsible for sustainable development. The study sample consisted of students from the University of Novi Sad, specifically from the faculties with accredited programs in the field of humanities and technological sciences. Findings: In general, students recognized the main determinants of sustainable development and they support an integral approach to sustainability, i.e. the need to include the knowledge, values and skills for sustainable development in the higher education programs. In addition, they identified a number of obstacles and the uncertainties of overcoming them. In this regard, the students did not recognize the responsibility of the higher education institutions as the key responsibility or their own responsibility in relation to sustainable development, which can be related to their feeling of marginalization and the doubt that their behaviour and decisions can influence the development of the local society, as well as the development of the society as a whole. On the other hand, the respondents acknowledged the role, the importance and the responsibility of the mass media in the process of developing the attitudes towards and opinions about the problems related to environmental protection and sustainable development. Practical implications: The results of the study indicate the students' attitudes towards sustainable development, thus making the directions for higher education reform clearer and in line with the present needs for sustainable development in Serbia. The obtained results can serve as a recommendation to the governing structures, i.e. to the relevant ministries of education and environmental protection, as well as to the universities in terms of which direction their process of planning and creating paths of sustainability should take. This is particularly important in the case of the Republic of Serbia, which is currently in the process of joining the European Union and responding to the requirements set by the process of negotiation for Chapter 27 in terms of improving the strategic framework and plans for the education for sustainable development and building the capacities in response to climate change. On the other hand, linking the results of this research with the results of similar studies around the world contributes to the further enrichment of the scientific knowledge base in this field and confirms the need for stronger and united efforts on the path to a sustainable future. It is a fact that, regardless of the national, economic, socio-political and cultural context, there is a global lack of success in shaping a humane and sustainable relationship between man and nature. Therefore, the results of this research should be considered as an invitation for new research initiatives regarding the ways to support the positive attitudes of students towards the concept of sustainable development and to facilitate their further development in the educational process, as well as in other academic domains. Originality/value: This research is inspired by the fact that, in the Balkan countries, education for sustainable development has not been extensively discussed within the scientific discourse on higher education for sustainable development. This is one of the first papers to provide data about students' attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development and the need for its implementation in the higher education system in Serbia. The value of the paper lies in its potential to help understand the role that different drivers and barriers play in higher education for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to analyse the actions taken by the European Union towards the Western Balkans in the context of the migration crisis. The study assumes that the migration crisis was an important factor accelerating the accession process of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union. In order to fulfil the research goal, an analysis of sources (European Union documents) was conducted. The paper uses elements of the theory of the regional security complex as a theoretical framework. Firstly, the activities of the European Union before the migration crisis are discussed. Next, the paper focuses on presenting the course of the crisis on the Western Balkan route. The further part of the study discusses the actions taken by the EU towards the countries of the Western Balkans in response to the migration crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brexit has been just one practical expression of the numerous disintegrative movements that engulfed the EU. It has offered a unique opportunity for questioning the TINA principle both in the European core and its periphery. The paper aims at elaborating the Left case against the EU, and particularly the Lexit, as it is seen generally and from the position of the left-wing movements in Europe and the Balkans. The paper focuses on a few key questions: what is the meaning of 'L/Exit'? What are the key arguments of the leftwing critique of the EU? If another (progressive) Europe is possible, where is the place of the Balkans in that new architecture? These issues have gained in urgency and importance especially since the 2019 October summit of the EU when the enlargement policy has been put on hold due to the French 'Non' to Albania and Macedonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to contribute to understanding the impact of the EU assistance on increasing institutional capacity, particularly in higher education institutions of the Western Balkans. This study highlights the hypothesis concerning the impact of EU funds in capacity building of human resources in Western Balkan countries, with particular emphasis on Kosovo, Albania, BiH, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Croatia. An additional value added to the EU programs is university- industry cooperation which is recognized as an important factor for strengthening the research capacities, human resources, and regional cooperation between the institutions in the Western Balkans. For the Methodology, the Cronbach Alpha analysis will be proceeded to assess the accuracy of the questionnaire, followed by the research with multiple and simple linear regression. The result of the paper has shown the positive relationship between the performance of the institutions and the EU programs, therefore, the main conclusions of the paper are that EU funds positively affect the advancement of human resources in WB due to limited financial sources of the local institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) represents a certain partnership and alliance between states and countries. It is not governed as the United States of America, nor intergoverned as the United Nations. Member States of the EU are sovereign countries united to become privileged and globally successful. Every enlargement of the Union is significant, but the fifth enlargement has been recognised, so far, as the most significant, showing the unification of Eastern and Western Europe. However, the most significant enlargement is yet to come with the Western Balkan countries becoming Member States of the EU (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia), considering the political and economic situation of the region. The European Commission has proposed the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP) for South East Europe, as the most significant frame for the EU to ensure relations with the Western Balkan countries and to direct its overall enlargement policy to this part of Europe. Associations of the Western Balkans are usually negative, referring to weak economic development, wars and political instability, which have led to the pre-accession strategy for the EU membership known as the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). The aim of this paper is to present the progress of the Western Balkan countries towards the EU membership, their current state, and the problems they face on that path and to explain the SAP and the SAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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After the closure of the so-called 'Balkan Route', the western Balkan countries became buffer zones for thousands of unregistered migrants living 'in waiting' in precarious conditions. The overland route captures everyday configurations of multiple spatial, temporal and social interconnections, in their entanglement with the historicity of the cross-border areas. By analysing ethnographic accounts collected on the Italian-Austrian and Italian-Slovenian borders, the paper explores the street-level practices of public/institutional apparatus and the stories of would-be asylum seekers, with their experiences of mobility and 'involuntary immobility' shaped by power relations. Our aim is to discuss the complexity of this process which concerns patterns of (im)mobility (e.g., waithood), migration projects, rejection, violence, vulnerability and agency from the point of view of the migrants entering the European Union through this eastern passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine the links between university-industry collaboration (UIC) predictors (inputs) and the results of UIC cooperation (outputs). The focus of the research is UIC within the European Union member states and the Western Balkan countries. The analysis was conducted using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). This method enabled examining the links between variables that are not directly observable. The authors used data for the period of three years, 2015–2018. The results prove that countries investing in UIC predictors (inputs) have better UIC performance (outputs). Based on the statistical analysis, the authors identified the investments in knowledge, networking, and research and development (R&D), in general, as the most significant that impact UIC performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In February 2018, the European Union (EU) announced the Strategy for the Western Balkans' European integration that introduced a new momentum in the conditionality policy, which has the potential to decisively impact the pace and success of enlargement process. That addition to the conditionality policy concerns requirement to settle any open border issues prior to accession to the EU. Thus, this paper is assessing how border disputes could impact the integration processes of countries of the region in the light of the new conditionality. In addition, it will discuss one particular open border dispute in the Western Balkans involving the most advanced candidate country in the accession process (Montenegro) and the youngest member country (Croatia) over the Prevlaka peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the strong interdependencies and vulnerability of the EU, especially when in competition with other external actors. On the other hand, the slow pace of reforms and the increasingly uncertain domestic context, coupled with the growing influence of external actors and the EU's own internal difficulties and divergent positions of the Member States have complicated the enlargement environment. However, starting with the "geopolitical Commission" led by President Ursula von der Leyen and in light of so many challenges, the Western Balkans are in the spotlight again, for both the EU and other external actors, such as Russia and China. The paper focuses on the political and economic implications of the actions of two external actors (Russia and China) in correlation with the process of strengthening EU strategic autonomy, taking into account the complementarity between the security and the economic dimensions, as well as the impact of the war in Ukraine and its spill over effect in the Western Balkans that need to be approached separately, considering the vast implications and potential disruptive effect on the security and stability of the region. On the EU side, starting with the revised enlargement methodology (2020), aimed at boosting the enlargement process more predictably and dynamically, a credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans has been re-established, even more so, that the revised methodology was followed by a series of processes aimed at promoting investment and socio-economic integration for the region, Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans alongside with its Green and Digital Agenda being among them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined whether the revised enlargement methodology represented another step in the direction of gradual EU membership of the Western Balkans. The research problem was based on considerations that the EU enlargement domain has for years been characterized by political stagnation. The research aimed to show that a differentiated accession approach might have been beneficial for Serbia, as a front-runner membership candidate. In terms of methods, the author analyzes the concepts and the applicability of the „three-tiered accession' and „staged accession', having in mind the recently altered enlargement methodology. The author argues that the gradual integration would have been beneficial for two reasons: 1) validating the candidates' already achieved progress, offering tangible incentives, and potentially preventing the democratic backsliding; 2) taking the pre-scheduled accession dates off the table. Considering that the EU is unlikely to expand further, the author concludes that the gradual membership concept might apply solely to the WB, while also reassuring the Member States regarding the primacy of individual merits and excluding the speedy accessions proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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