Posted on

Workshop on Staged Accession Model to the EU

A two-day workshop that brought together partners and experts from the region and Brussels was held this week, 30-31 January, in Belgrade, organised by European Policy Center (CEP).

Representatives of the Institute Alternative, Milena Muk and Dragana Jaćimović, participated in the two-day workshop whose purpose was to discuss the policy papers produced within the initiative on the further development of the Staged accession model. 

The workshop’s main objective was to further develop the Staged accession model using the perspectives of all project partners. For this purpose, drafts of national papers on the application of the model in each of the countries of the Western Balkans were presented and discussed at the workshop.

The workshop additionally enabled experts to get to know each other personally, present their ideas and discuss various topics, with the aim of further improving national papers. During breakout sessions, topics of special interest to all countries of the region were covered.

This Initiative is implemented by the Institute Alternative, together with European Policy Center (CEP) from Belgrade, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels, Foreign Policy Initiative, Sarajevo and European Policy Institute (EPI) from Skopje, with the support of Open Society Foundation (OSF).

Posted on

Potentials of Early Integration of Montenegro Into the EU Gender Equality Framework

The European Commission created a revised methodology that provides Montenegro with a window for early or accelerated integration that implies gradual introduction to individual policies of the European Union, European Union markets, and its programmes. This model is accompanied with the provision of increased funding through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, in order to provide more intensive support in the accession process.

Early integration into the structures of the European Union is currently most visible in areas where we share common challenges, such as the fight against organised crime or border management. However, it is important for citizens that not only problems, but also benefits are the subject of early integration of Montenegro into the EU. Bearing the above in mind, this analysis focuses on the potential of early integration of Montenegro into the institutional framework for gender equality and gender mainstreaming of the European Union, with the aim of mapping institutions and programmes that Montenegro could take part in during the accession process.

In the analysis, we mapped nearly 20 expert and advisory bodies, as well as programmes at the EU level, in which Montenegro can express its interest to participate. For the purposes of this paper, we define early integration as the country’s potential to access the institutions, networks and working groups of the European Union for gender equality in the capacity of an observer or a full member, and to use the existing programmes to the full extent possible, even in the pre-accession period, i.e. before conventional membership.