A Continental Rapprochement: Western Balkan’s Alignment Toward EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy

The article showcases how European institutions, within the enlargement frameworks, proposed a suite of recommendations regarding Western Balkan countries’ foreign policy approaches, with a special focus on intra-regional cooperation, socio-political credibility, cross-border interaction predictability, multi-actor, and multi-level omnidirectional reform establishment. As such, the paper analyses WB6’s methods and degrees of alignment towards EU’s CFSP, especially in terms of shifting international patterns. The first part is an overview of WB6’ specificities and how such aspects constitute a bridge or a rift, when it comes to the embodiment of European values, ideals, directions, etc., as prerequisites of ascension into EU’s continental family. Decoding their core particularities is fundamental to the analysis, since it serves as a steppingstone for Balkans foreign affairs’ extrapolation, interpretation, and comprehension, through in-depth literature reviews, as an enabler of more nuanced and balanced perspectives on the matter, addressing the question of how unitary traits affect systemic conduct. The second part consists of a literature review-oriented in-depth exploration of the six countries’ international frameworks and the latter’s alignment towards the CFSP. This endeavour draws from the first chapter’s deciphering, correlated with extensive data examination, based on the Commission’s adhesion progress reports, alongside official documents, respective to each country, as to answer the question of how we interpret progress through juxtaposed interlinkages. Lastly, the main arguments, emanated from the investigative processes, are wrapped up as to form a base for future programmatic, operational and paradigmatic pathways, especially ones requiring an analytical overview.