In the framework of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council the EU-Western Balkans summit took place in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 17 May. Heads of states or governments from EU members met with the leaders from the 6 Western Balkans partners: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo. EU leaders agreed on the Sofia Declaration, supported by the Western Balkans countries. Sofia Priority Agenda has also been adopted as an annex to the declaration. The document outlines concrete measures for enhanced cooperation between EU and the region. At the summit the European perspective of the Western Balkans was reaffirmed as ...

The European Commission adopted on 17 April 2018 its annual Enlargement Package, including seven individual reports, assessing the implementation of the European Union's enlargement policy which is based on established criteria and fair and rigorous conditionality. Progress along the European path is an objective and merit-based process which depends on the concrete results achieved by each individual country, with the rule of law, justice and fundamental rights being an utmost priority. A credible enlargement perspective requires sustained efforts and irreversible reforms. The EU Enlargement is an investment in peace, security and stability ...

Over the last year counter terrorism experts and European policy makers alike have warned that the military defeat and the end of large scale ISIS presence in the Middle East may be the beginning of a new phase; the influx of returning foreign fighters. We all know that the numbers are immense, that the foreign fighters are battle hardened and, in many occasions, ultra-radicals. We also know that many will hardly be able to return to their original homeland and will, just like the Afghan Mujahedeen did in the early nineties of the last century, seek to infiltrate the European space. It is a headache for intelligence services all through Euro ...