19 March 2025

The Europa Institute (Leiden University) and the Asser Institute are organising a joint workshop on 'A Legal Assessment of (EU) Integration in the Western Balkans', on 31 October 2025, in The Hague.

For this workshop, academics are invited to submit 600 word paper proposals on the following three themes:

1. Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAAs) and enlargement;
2. The legal dimension of (economic) cooperation in the region; and
3. A view from the Western Balkan countries. 

The workshop will explore regional integration processes in the Western Balkans against the backdrop of EU accession efforts. It will examine how various initiatives - including the Central European Free Trade Agreement, Berlin Process, and common Regional Market - interact with the EU enlargement framework. 

Prof. Adam Lazowski (Professor at the Westminster Law School and European Neighbourhood Chair Coordinator & Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Natolin)) will deliver the keynote address. 

The organisers particularly welcome papers examining whether these multiple integration paths facilitate or hinder the ultimate goal of EU accession. The call comes as geopolitical shifts, including Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, have renewed focus on the strategic importance of Western Balkan integration into European structures. 

Interested academics should submit abstracts of up to 600 words and a brief CV to the organisers by 1 May 2025. Selected participants will be notified by 16 May and expected to deliver full papers by 1 October 2025. 

The workshop is intended to lay groundwork for publication either as an edited volume or special journal issue focusing on legal and economic integration. Limited financial support for travel and accommodation is available for qualifying participants. 

Please read the full call here!