From periphery to strategic position: reframing the western Balkans’ EU future through digital and green transformation

Abstract

The European Union’s enlargement toward the western Balkans has increasingly been framed through a prism of risk, potential instability and institutional fragility. This perception, reflected in recent public opinion trends across EU member states, has contributed to enlargement fatigue and political hesitation. This article argues for a conceptual and strategic shift: the western Balkans should be repositioned not as a policy burden but as a contributor to Europe’s competitiveness and resilience. By leveraging comparative advantages in digital services, particularly AI-related capacities, and renewable energy potential, the region can align itself with the EU’s twin green and energy transitions. This requires political stability and strengthened institutional capacity, improved absorption of EU research and development funds and more coordinated regional strategies. EU accession should not be treated solely as an endpoint but as a mobilising framework to unlock endogenous growth and strategic integration. Reframing the western Balkans’ role in this way benefits both the region and the European Union.