Communities of practice in the Adriatic and Ionian region: The untapped contribution to the EU integration of the Balkans

The prospects for the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union have been at a standstill for several years. Since Croatia’s entry in 2013, no new accessions have taken place. The reasons for this are manifold: the countries of the region continue to face economic and institutional challenges, while, on the other hand, the enlargement process itself appears to have lost much of its original momentum. However, governments are not the only actors capable of contributing to integration. In particular, territorial cooperation networks between European partners and partners from the region -such as those established within the framework of the IPA Interreg programmes or the EUSAIR macro-regional strategy - foster mutual understanding and the Europeanization of norms and procedures.

This study focuses on Communities of Practice (CoPs) - groups of experts collaborating on specific themes and topics - active in territorial cooperation between Italy and the Western Balkans, and on their potential contribution to bottom-up European integration.

The publication is the result of a project by the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa and CeSPI, carried out with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.