The Balkans in Europe: containment or transformation?

On the eve of an EU Summit which discussed the Western Balkan countries’ membership hopes, this EPC Working Paper suggests 12 ideas to guide future action by the European Union and countries in the region. Among other things, it argues that the EU needs to resolve the ‘security versus transformation’ dilemma inherent in its current approach; clarify that conditionality is not an à la carte menu, but provide more and targeted ‘carrots’; and send a clear signal of its continued commitment to enlargement.