[FR] Euroquestions #70 | Russia, China, Turkey: what influence do they have on EU candidate countries?
On the eve of the December European Council, which may see the opening of negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova’s accession to the EU, what is the situation with the Western Balkan candidates? The region has been back in the media spotlight since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, exposing the murky links between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Russia in particular. Despite these countries’ desire to join the European family, Russia, China, Turkey, the Gulf states and Israel have sought to advance their interests there.
Will the integration of half of the region’s states into NATO (Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro) and the presence of the transatlantic alliance in Kosovo, although solid, be enough to maintain peace there? Following comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning of an imminent ‘explosion’ in the Balkans, how can Russia’s capacity for destabilisation in the region be assessed? In this context, what positions are China, Turkey and other powers taking? Can the EU make enlargement a genuine geopolitical tool capable of defending its model against rival influences?
We are pleased to welcome Benjamin Couteau, researcher on enlargement at the Centre Grande Europe of the Jacques Delors Institute, to answer these questions.
