Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

Dear young leaders from 🇷🇸🇧🇦🇲🇪,

Applications are now open for #BOLD25 Balkan Regional Youth Leadership Workshop: Community Engagement in the 21st Century, organised by Bard College’s Center for Civic Engagement.

📅 Deadline: 25 October 2025
🔗 Learn more and apply via the links below ⬇️

1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

This would unlock genuine reforms. Not all would join at the same time, but the momentum would return. That is what matters.

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

🇪🇺 therefore needs to set a clear date by which it will be ready to welcome the prepared candidates, whether as full members or as fully part of the single market – just as it set 2002 as a target year in 1999 for the 10 + 2 enlargement.

1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

My answer:

Without a clear, concrete, and achievable goal, no Western Balkan country will be ready or join in this decade.

1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

The Spanish daily El Mundo where according to last month’s #Eurobarometer 67 percent of 🇪🇸 citizens support enlargement [including 🇽🇰: 53 percent], asked how to turn this talk of new momentum into a real process that leads to genuine reforms and full membership.

1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

And yes, according to the last Commission report from October 2024, some candidates like [🇲🇩 and] 🇦🇱 have made progress not seen in years in their level of preparedness for 🇪🇺 membership, at this pace no candidate – including 🇲🇪 – will be ready to join by 2030.

1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

Indeed, the journey towards 🇪🇺 membership has, for the six Western Balkan states, turned into a decades-long walk through the desert.

Since 2022, many have spoken of new momentum. And while, yes, the #EU27 have taken more decisions and done so more quickly.

1 1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

Furthermore, support in 🇬🇷 for 🇽🇰’s bid (44 percent) exceeds that for 🇺🇦 (41), 🇦🇱 (39), 🇲🇰 (37), and 🇹🇷 (22), and equals 🇬🇪 (44).

In 🇨🇾, support for 🇽🇰 (40 percent) is higher than for 🇦🇱 (34) and 🇹🇷 (13), and equals 🇬🇪 (40).

Could this help 🇽🇰's bid? It should.

1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

In 🇪🇸 and 🇷🇴 – over half support 🇽🇰’s membership.
In 🇸🇰 – more support than opposition.
In 🇬🇷 & 🇨🇾 – opposition higher, but support remains above 40 percent.

1 1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

The last month's #Eurobarometer shows how citizens in these five countries view #Kosovo’s #EU bid:

Across the #EU5 non-recognisers, 47 percent are in favour and 40 percent against Kosovo’s accession — higher support than the #EU27 average (43 percent in favour, 46 percent against).

1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 2d

🇽🇰 applied for 🇪🇺 membership is December 2022.
It has now been 33 months since then — and the next step, for the Council to ask the European Commission for its opinion, is still pending.

One reason: 5 members don't recognise 🇽🇰.

The latest #Eurobarometer shows how citizens view #Kosovo’s #EU bid 👇

1 2 3

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 5d

“…the importance of #accountability for #attacks on #KFOR and violence in #Banjska.”

🇷🇸

2

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 5d

Besides the fact that such an approach is, for Dodik, “absolutely unacceptable,” in his view 🇩🇪 “traditionally shows its hostility or its bad intentions towards Serbs. And today I must say that 🇩🇪 continues to do this persistently and rehabilitates it in the territory of 🇧🇦.”

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 5d

He added that the 🇩🇪 government “behaves like the old 🇺🇸 administrations, choosing with whom they want to talk and with whom they do not.”

1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 5d

“I believed that in [president Vladimir #Putin’s] talks with other powerful partners in the world, above all the 🇺🇸, it would be good not to let the #Balkans slip away and be left to the 🇩🇪,” said Milorad #Dodik after yesterday’s meeting with Putin.

1 1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 7d

The Berlin Playbook’s Gordon Repinski sums it up:

“Resistance to moving away from unanimity raises questions about how ready the 🇪🇺 really is for reform – and whether the accession promise for countries such as 🇺🇦, 🇲🇩 or the #WesternBalkans is realistic at all.”

www.politico.eu/newsletter/b...

Merz in Europa: (Etwas) Germany first

Präsentiert von Amazon Von GORDON REPINSKI Mit CARLOTTA DIEDERICH PRÄSENTIERT VON Schicken Sie uns Ihre Tipps hier, hier oder hier | X @GordonRepinski @vonderburchard @R_Buchsteiner | Das Playbook …

www.politico.eu

1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 7d

It is no secret that 🇪🇺 Council president António #Costa wants accession talks to be decided by qualified majority rather than unanimity. Foremost to bypass 🇭🇺. Yet, as #POLITICOEurope reports this morning, several 🇪🇺 states – including 🇫🇷, 🇬🇷 and the 🇳🇱 – oppose this move.

1 1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 7d

Holders of 🇧🇦 [and other Western Balkans] passports who plan to travel to Schengen countries from 12 October will no longer be able to cross the border as before.

For #Oslobođenje, on the changes this new European system will will bring.

oslobodjenje.ba/vijesti/bih/...

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 7d

As well as Sarajevo based #Oslobodjenje and #DnevniAvaz 👇🏼

www.oslobodjenje.ba/vijesti/bih/...

avaz.ba/vijesti/bih/...

www.oslobodjenje.ba

1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 7d

For #NezavisneNovine in Banja Luka 👇🏼

www.nezavisne.com/novosti/bih/...

Još puno posla pred BiH do dobijanja evropskih miliona

BANJALUKA - Usvajanjem Reformske agende, BiH je načinila značajan korak do povlačenja sredstava iz Plana rasta, ali je preostalo još mnogo posla do dobijanja evropskih miliona.

www.nezavisne.com

1 1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 7d

However, in order to actually benefit from the Growth Plan funds, 🇧🇦 will have to implement reforms. Whether the reforms listed in the document, shrouded in secrecy, are sufficient will be determined by the European Commission and the member states.

1 1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 7d

The most important consequence of adopting the revised Reform Agenda is that the 🇪🇺 could now stop cutting the total amount of money allocated to 🇧🇦.

1 1 2

Reposted by Adi Ćerimagić

The New Union Post @newunionpost.bsky.social · 8d

#Bosnia adopted the Reform Agenda for the EU Growth Plan on 30 September, the very last day available to prevent another 10% from being lost. But "the country must now deliver reforms in order to unlock the funds," warns Senior Analyst @adicerimagic.bsky.social

newunionpost.eu/2025/10/01/b...

Bosnia will not lose any more EU Growth Plan funds—for now

With €100 million already wasted, the Bosnian Council of Ministers adopted the Reform Agenda on the very last day to prevent a further 10% loss

newunionpost.eu

1 1

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 10d

What does this mean for the future role of the #OHR and the Bonn Powers? And what else—or instead—should be pursued in the coming period?

Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic.bsky.social · 10d

This also raises a larger question for the international community: was the decision to shift responsibility for defending the so-called Bonn Powers onto 🇧🇦’s judiciary and local institutions worth the effort?

1