Professor Fagan, commenting on the findings from the MAXCAP workshop in Sarajevo, said that EU strategies must focus on building stronger institutions to protect minority rights in the Western Balkans. This would avoid the mistakes made during past enlargement in Central and Eastern Europe, which has allowed significant back-sliding on minority protection in these countries.

The full article in Balkan Insight can be found here.

Professor Fagan was also interviewed by Slobodna Bosna about the future prospects of EU integration in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He commented that the recent German-British initiative on breaking the political deadlock in Bosnia-Herzegovina signalled a realisation that international actors have an important role to play. He commented that current EU instruments themselves are not appropriate for unconsolidated democracies like Bosnia-Herzegovina. To renew the momentum for reforms, Professor Fagan recommended that the EU sets a clear timeline for Bosnian accession to the EU, and concluded that ‘the EU fears that doing this would prevent reform from taking place; the opposite is true in my opinion’. The English-language interview transcript can be found in Balkan Insight here (registration required).