On March 13, 2025, the College of Europe in Tirana hosted a high-level conference titled “EU Enlargement and Societal Transformation in the Western Balkans: Civil Society and Youth Engagement for Democratic Resilience.” The event brought together a vibrant audience of students, academics, civil society actors, diplomats, and institutional representatives to discuss the future of democratic transformation and the role of civic actors in shaping the EU accession process.
Organized by the College’s European and Transnational Governance (ETI) department and supported by the EU’s Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, the conference featured keynote addresses from EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, and Albanian Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Igli Hasani. The two-panel program addressed both the transformational potential of EU enlargement and the challenges of societal transformation, with a special focus on civic space and youth engagement.
The second panel, titled “Challenges of Societal Transformation in the EU Accession Process – Role of Civil Society Organisations and Youth Engagement Initiatives,” brought together leading voices from civil society, academia, and youth platforms. The panel was opened by a powerful keynote speech by Commissioner Kos, who stressed the importance of defending democratic values and ensuring that civil society and young people are recognized as key agents of change.
BCSDN’s Voice: Civic Space at the Core of Enlargement Credibility
As part of the panel, Biljana Spasovska, Executive Director of the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN), delivered a strong message highlighting the democratic backsliding across the region and the shrinking space for civil society, particularly in Serbia and Republika Srpska. Drawing from BCSDN’s ongoing monitoring and advocacy, she pointed to escalating repression, misuse of legal frameworks to suppress independent civic activity, exclusion of CSOs from policymaking, and the rise of donor-dependency as critical challenges that threaten the integrity of democratic transformation, as well as EU’s credibility in the region.
She emphasized that while civil society has remained a consistent advocate for democratic values in the Balkans, the EU must do more to protect and empower it.
BCSDN’s Policy Recommendations: Making the Case for Structural Change
In her intervention, Spasovska outlined BCSDN’s key policy proposals to ensure that the EU’s approach to enlargement remains rooted in democratic principles:
- Embed civic space protections as binding conditions in the accession process, with clear benchmarks on freedoms, institutional independence, and public participation;
- Strengthen participatory mechanisms so that CSOs are formally involved in designing, implementing, and monitoring reform agendas;
- Ensure financial sustainability of local CSOs by prioritizing long-term, flexible core support over fragmented project funding;
- Impose real political and financial consequences for democratic backsliding and the deliberate exclusion of civil society.
She questioned whether the EU’s enlargement agenda still reflects a normative, values-based process or is increasingly shaped by strategic interests and political expediency.
“If civil society is being silenced, democracy is in trouble. The EU must choose whether enlargement will remain a normative process grounded in democratic values—or devolve into a purely strategic tool. This is a critical moment to act.”
– Biljana Spasovska, BCSDN Executive Director
A Broader Consensus on Inclusion and Democratic Ownership
The panel also featured contributions from Igor Vidačak (College of Europe/University of Zagreb), Bojana Selaković (Serbian National Convention on the EU), and Klajdi Kaziu (Young European Ambassador, Albania). All speakers echoed the urgency of supporting pro-democratic actors and ensuring that both civil society and youth are not only engaged but empowered throughout the enlargement process.
Keynote speaker Commissioner Marta Kos emphasized this point, reaffirming the EU’s commitment to increased support for civil society in the Western Balkans. She called on candidate countries to make enlargement a whole-of-society project, drawing on the lessons of successful past enlargements where national unity and civil society engagement were instrumental.
“There will be no geopolitical discount on reforms. Rule of law, civic freedoms, and accountability are the foundation of both democracy and prosperity. Strong civil society ultimately means strong democracy.”
– Marta Kos, EU Commissioner for Enlargement
BCSDN’s Commitment: Advocacy for a Credible and Inclusive Enlargement Process
BCSDN’s participation in this important gathering reaffirms our mission to defend civic space, hold governments accountable, and ensure that civil society is recognized as a critical driver of democratic transformation in the EU accession process.
We welcome the recognition by Commissioner Kos and other stakeholders that civil society must be systematically included—not merely consulted—in the design, implementation, and monitoring of reforms. As the EU moves forward in redefining its approach to enlargement in a challenging geopolitical climate, it must also renew its commitment to the principles that give the process legitimacy.
BCSDN will continue working closely with civil society actors in the region and with EU institutions to advocate for meaningful reforms, civic space protections, and a values-based enlargement policy that truly delivers for citizens.