Week in Review: Enlargement, Elections and Revolutions

The French and Enlargement

French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/FRANCOIS MORI / POOL MAXPPP OUT

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic this week visited France, in an attempt to boost support for Serbia's EU accession hopes, among other things. In 2004, France was the champion of Romanian and Bulgarian EU accession. Over the last few years, it has become seemingly one of the most sceptical countries when it comes to enlargement, with President Emmanuel Macron pulling the brake on the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia recently.

The enlargement-sceptic stance of Paris is often explained away by analysts as being a product of the scepticism of French voters towards enlargement. Yet, as Srdjan Cvijic writes in his opinion piece for Balkan Insight, new research suggests that French politicians have little need to obstruct enlargement. Opposition to enlargement in France is no worse than in some other EU countries and - more crucially - is not particularly salient with voters when it comes to their actual voting intentions. President Macron is free to lead on enlargement, rather than to avoid it, should he wish to do so.

Read more: Supporting Western Balkans' EU Prospects Won't Hurt Macron (February 1, 2021)

Prime Ministers in Waiting

Kosovo PM candidates for the February 14, 2021, elections. Albin Kurti (left) , Avdullah Hoti (center), Enver Hoxhaj (right)). Photo: BIRN

On February 14, Kosovo's voters will go to the polls to elect a new Parliament, almost exactly a year and a half after the last Parliamentary elections. Unlike in the past, there seems little uncertainty over the outcome of the elections, although...