Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks is a podcast series that offers in-depth analysis and background information on current events in the Balkans, featuring discussions with leading policy analysts on important new studies. It provides regular updates on what matters in the region, produced by the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group.
Episodes
Mining & Real Estate in the Balkans: Is Corrosive Capital Western now?
There are growing tensions around mining, environmental justice, and large-scale investment projects in the Western Balkans. As the region becomes increasingly important for Europe’s green transition and real estate development, local communities are raising concerns about environmental degradation, opaque decision-making, and the weakening of democratic safeguards.The episode explores cases rangi
A Change in Hungary: What does this mean for relations to the Balkans?
On April 12th, 2026, parliamentary elections in Hungary resulted in a landslide victory for the opposition Tisza party of Peter Magyar, ousting the incumbent Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party after 16 years in government. The Hungarian elections were closely followed by media outlets throughout Southeast Europe. The change in government will greatly impact all countries of the region, especially i
The Student Protest Movement in Serbia: What does the Future hold?
More than a year of protests, resistance and demonstrations have confronted the authoritarian rule of Aleksandar Vučić. This episode of Seriously Balkans reflects on the status of the resistance, the prospects for democratic change and the options for the European Union. While the main protests have subsided, Serbia remains in a permanent state of emergency. This is no longer controlled by the reg
The Western Balkans under Trump
In 2025 we saw fractures emerging in the transatlantic alliance as the second Trump administration pushed a new foreign policy vision focused on a sovereigntist understanding of spheres of influence. Repeatedly Europe, and foremost the European Union, have been sidelined as partners and often depicted as adversaries. We explore the implications of this emerging transatlantic rift on the countries
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 20
Dayton at 30: Bosnia’s Post-War GenerationThis year marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Since then, a whole generational change has happened, but in terms of constitutional arrangements they have remained frozen for three decades.2025 has seen a lot of reflections on this topic, but we are going to explore it from a different angle. Today we’re talking about wh
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 19
The Predicament of Media and Press Freedom in the BalkansDuring 2025, press freedom and independent journalism have come under sustained attack. The war in Ukraine, the genocide in Western Asia, and the political rise of extremist parties have all contributed to the erosion of one of the core pillars of democratic societies.In the Balkans, governments with increasingly authoritarian tendencies hav
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 18
A Change in Republika Srpska?Host: Damir Kapidžić, BiEPAG memberGuests: Dženeta Karabegović, Associate Professor at the University of Salzburg, and Vedran Džihić, a member of BiEPAGThis episode reflects on developments that have been keeping Bosnia and Herzegovina on edge. In the past year, the longtime leader of Bosnian Serbs and president of the ruli
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 17
Kosovo on the Edge: Democracy, Deadlock, and GeopoliticsIt’s been an eventful year in Kosovo. New general elections are a possible scenario while the country is still navigating local elections, with the first round on 12 October and the second round expected on 9 November.In this episode, we unpack what’s at stake:· Can Kosovo’s institutions hold under pressure?
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 16
The Evolving Role of the European Political CommunityHost: Donika Emini, BiEPAG MemberGuests:Odeta Barbullushi, Resident Professor at the College of Europe, Tirana Campus, and BiEPAG memberTristan Aureau, Director, Centre for Analysis, Planning and Strategy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France.Donika Emini, BiEPAG member and co-host of this episode, discusses the evolving role of the European
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 15
What the new German Government means for the Balkans?Host: Florian Bieber, BiEPAG CoordinatorGuests: Frauke Seebass,Visiting Fellow, SWP & Associate Researcher, DGAP and Adi Ćeramagić, Senior Analyst, ESIThe new German government of Friedrich Merz announced in its coalition agreement that it would prioritize reforms over enlargement. What this means for the Western Balkans and how the new gove
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 14
Kosovo’s 2025 Parliamentary Elections and the Shifting Geopolitical LandscapeHost: Damir Kapidžić, member of BiEPAG Guests: Donika Emini, member of BiEPAG and Gëzim Krasniqi, Lecturer at the University of EdinburghOn February 9th, 2025, Kosovo held Parliamentary elections, the first after a full government term since independence. Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s party, which previously won a landslid
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 13
Student Protests in SerbiaHost: Florian Bieber, BiEPAG CoordinatorGuests: Danica (anonymous based on the request of the student plenum), Faculty of Chemistry, University of BelgradeStudent (anonymous based on the request of the student plenum), Philosophical Faculty, University of BelgradeWe want to change the country, so we don’t have to leave the country, is a central theme of the thousands of s
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 12
Croatia’s Role in the Region: Continuity or Change? Host: Tena Prelec, BiEPAG MemberGuests: First part: Oliver Kannenberg (Research associate at IParl, Berlin) and Željko Poljak (PhD researcher and a member of the M²P, University of Antwerp)Second part: Damir Kapidžić and Jovana Marović, BiEPAG MembersCroatia often distances itself from the Western Balkans label, yet its political weight in t
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 11
How do geopolitical interests impact democracy in the Balkans?Discussing how geopolitical interest shape the democracy in the Balkans, specifically the role of economic and informal political linkages of the countries of the region and EU, but also Russia and China. Host: Damir KapidžićGuests: Milica Uvalić (Visiting Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies RSC at the European Univ
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 10
BiEPAG's Coordinator Florian Bieber is hosting his guests Majda Ruge (Senior Policy Fellow, ECFR Berlin) and Milan Krstić (Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, Belgrade) to discuss the possible implications of the results of the U.S. Elections 2024 and the incoming Donald Trump presidency for the Western Balkans, with special focus to his first nominations for key foreign post
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 9
What do the results of the 2024 EU elections mean for the Western Balkans?Host: Damir Kapidžić, BiEPAG Member Guests: Dušan Reljić, Independent consultant and former Head of Brussels office for SWP and Corina Stratulat, BiEPAG Member and Associate Director and Head of the European Politics and Institutions Programme at the European Policy Centre, Brussels. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 8
The 8th podcast episode of Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks is all about the recent repeated local and municipal elections in Serbia.BiEPAG's Member Tena Prelec discusses the topic from different aspects with two experts that have followed the situation on the ground - Tamara Branković, Deputy Programme Director at the Serbian NGO CRTA and Aleksandar Ivković, Journalist at European Western Bal
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, episode 7
The 7th episode of our BiEPAG's podcast "Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks" is all about the analysis of the elections in North Macedonia BiEPAG's Coordinator Florian Bieber is hosting the discussion on the recent presidential and parliamentary elections North Macedonia with Simonida Kacarska,Director of the European Policy Institute (EPI) - Skopje / Member of the EFB Steering Committee an
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, Episode 6
The last episode for 2023 of the BiEPAG's podcast Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks focuses on:The results of the Serbian parliamentary, local, and provincial electionsHost: Florian BieberGuests: Tara Tepavac, Researcher at Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory at the University of Belgrade, and Nikola Burazer, Programme Director at Centre for Contemporary Politics and Executive Editor at
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, Episode 5
Every winter the same? Air pollution in the cities of the Western BalkansHost: Florian Bieber Guests: Gorjan Jovanovski, EarthCare.ai - North Macedonia and Denis Žiško, Aarhus Centre - BiH Every winter we have the same picture – heating, traffic, heavy industry and coal fueled power plants are having harmful effects and causing increased air pollution, which is directly connected with many di
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, Episode 4
The fourth episode of BiEPAG Podcast is on #Ukraine. BiEPAG's Coordinator Florian Bieber and BiEPAG's Member Damir Kapidžić are hosting important interlocutors on this subject:Ukrainian Perspectives on the Enlargement and Synergies with the Western Balkans Host: Florian BieberGuests: Ivan Nagornyak, Deputy Director of the Government Office for Coordination on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, Episode 3
Hosts: Florian Bieber and Tena Prelec, BiEPAG Part 1The position of Serbs in Northern Kosovo in the light of tensions between Serbia and KosovoGuests: Marina Vulović (SWP) and Milica Andrić Rakić (New Social Initiative) Part 220 years since the Thessaloniki promiseGuests: Nikola Dimitrov and Milica Delević Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, Episode 2
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, Episode 2The second episode looks into two very sensitive topics, but also important ones. The first segment tackles the mass shootings in Serbia, and the social and political implications of this events. In continuation the discussion is related to the recent works that look into the issue of foreign fighters going to Ukraine.🔹The Mass Shootings in Serbi
Seriously Balkans - The BiEPAG Talks, Episode 1
The premiere of the first podcast episode of the BiEPAG podcast series is hosted by Florian Bieber (BiEPAG's Coordinator, Director of Centre for Southeast European Studies, Graz) and Tena Prelec (BiEPAG Member, Research Associate at the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR), University of Oxford).🔎Part 1BiEPAG's Coordinator Florian Bieber is leading the discussing on the afterm
