Komunikace EU k Západnímu Balkánu

In 2020, the Commission presented a proposal for a new strategy on the Western Balkans which, in light of the pandemic, only underlines its importance for the European Union. The geopolitical and strategic importance of the Western Balkans region has unquestionably been reinforced by both the refugee crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. The thesis reflects the growing importance of the region in relation to the EU. Specifically, it examines the EU communication towards the Western Balkans between 2013 (the last enlargement in) and 2020. By analyzing the EU strategic communications, the thesis aims to identify whether the communication changes in relation to the security threats. The EU strategy communications and press releases of the European Commission have been analyzed using discourse analysis (open coding method). The research results show that discourse really is changing depending on the development of security threats. Nevertheless, the integration of the Western Balkan countries has stagnated since 2013, leaving behind a vacuum that actors like China or Russia are prepared to fill. Thus, the EU opens the door in the region to partners whose values are miles away from those of Europe - even though values represent the coded area with the highest incidence within the communication analysis.