Conference “Far-Right in Southeast Europe: Impacts of Global Instability”

As part of the conference “Far-Right in Southeast Europe: Impacts of Global Instability” which was held in Podgorica, Montenegro (30 May–1 June) and was organized by FES Dialogue Southeast Europe of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Ioannis Alexandris (Research Fellow, South-East Europe Programme-ELIAMEP & Research Associate, think nea – New Narratives of EU Integration) presented the key findings of the report “The Rise of Radical Right and Eurosceptic Political Forces and Their Impact on the EU’s Enlargement Policy”. The report was prepared in the framework of the initiative think nea – New Narratives of EU Integration which is supported by the Open Society Foundations Western Balkans.

The presentation examined how radical right parties across Europe are increasingly influencing the EU enlargement debate, often linking it to issues such as migration, national sovereignty, financial burden-sharing, and civilisational narratives. Alexandris highlighted the risk of further politicisation of enlargement and the need to proactively counter anti-enlargement narratives with credible messaging and inclusive engagement.

Commenting on the presentation, Professor Jelena Džankić (Senior Research Fellow, South-East Europe Programme-ELIAMEP) suggested areas for further research, such as the relationships between Western Balkan mainstream parties and their European far-right counterparts. She also pointed to the role of issue salience—why enlargement resonates more in some countries than others—and stressed the need to examine how diaspora communities, often strong supporters of far-right movements, shape political trends both in their host countries and in the region.

The session was part of a broader initiative coordinated by FES Dialogue Southeast Europe to design a Western Balkans Toolkit for countering the far right. Over the course of the three-day event, participants from academia, civil society, and politics engaged in strategy workshops and breakout groups covering media narratives, gender perspectives, and financial networks. The group agreed to continue work on the toolkit over the coming months, adapting existing frameworks to the regional context, with the goal of producing a draft version for presentation in early 2026 with the active participation of the team members of the initiative think nea – New Narratives of EU Integration.