According to preliminary results published by the Central Electoral Commission, based on 92 percent of polling stations, #SNSD candidate Siniša #Karan is ahead with approximately 200,000 votes, around 12,000 more than #SDS candidate Branko #Blanuša.

Voting in the early presidential elections in Republika Srpska in 🇧🇦 has finished. Turnout reached 35.8 percent, or 443,472 voters. This is a sharp fall from 2022, down 12.2 percent, or a minus of 233,000 voters.

Today voters in 🇧🇦’s Republika Srpska region choose their next president. As I told the #FAZ: “The greatest significance of this election lies in the fact that Milorad #Dodik has stepped down. In doing so, he has accepted the judgment of a judiciary that he had previously declared illegal.”

On coming Tuesday at @dgapev in Berlin, ambassador Wolfgang #Ischinger, Jim #OBrien, Sabina #StadlerRepnik, Christian #Hellbach and #myself will discuss three decades of peace in 🇧🇦, the country’s future, and lessons for peace in 🇺🇦. Grateful to Milan #Nič and his team for having us.

In less than a year, 🇪🇺 commissioner Marta #Kos became the face of renewed momentum for enlargement.

Viele sehen das Amt des Hohen Repräsentanten (#OHR) als unverzichtbar, um Zerfall und neuen Krieg zu verhindern. Ich sehe das anders: Ein Jahrzehnt lang hat der Hohe Repräsentant tatenlos zugesehen, dennoch ist 🇧🇦 weder zerfallen noch in den Krieg zurückgekehrt.

Those hoping for major shifts during Johann #Wadephul’s Western #Balkans tour will have been disappointed. Yet one message stood out: the 🇩🇪 government sees no obstacle to welcoming new members into the 🇪🇺 by 2029.

Marking thirty years since the end of the war in 🇧🇦, I write in the 🇪🇸 daily newspaper @elmundo.es.web.brid.gy about my family’s return as refugees: the checkpoints, the silence, the fear in the car. A fragile country, suspended between a ceasefire and the search for closure.

For the 🇪🇺 to welcome new members, in 🇩🇪 both the #Bundestag and #Bundesrat must agree. If a vote took place today, a majority would be far from certain. This mirrors public sentiment: 🇩🇪 is among 4 members where, according to the September 2025 #Eurobarometer, there is no majority for enlargement.

Derzeit gibt es in 🇧🇦 sowie in weiten Teilen des westlichen #Balkans (🇦🇱 und 🇲🇪 ausgenommen), keinen europäischen Akteur, den die politischen Eliten wirklich ernst nehmen. Dennoch wird die neue 🇩🇪 Bundesregierung aufmerksam beobachtet. @ostausschuss.bsky.social

2025 will be remembered as a year when all international instruments present in 🇧🇦 – from the EU-led military mission (#EUFOR) to the Office of the High Representative (#OHR) – were under internal pressure as well as pressure from the wider geopolitical situation.

Veliko je cinizma ne le med politik, ampak tudi med državljani in podjetji v regiji.

We should not fear the debate among the 27 🇪🇺 member states about the conditions under which they would be ready to unanimously support adding new members to the Union.

“The first 🇪🇺–🇧🇦 intergovernmental conference could be organised before the end of the year if all conditions are met,” says 🇪🇺 ambassador Luigi #Soreca.

“I hope I will be able to host him [🇩🇪 chancellor Friedrich #Merz] in Belgrade, in January or February next year,” said 🇷🇸 president Aleksandar Vučić yesterday in Brussels. He also announced 🇩🇪 FM #Wadephul’s visit to Belgrade “in a few days,” and referred to the meeting with Merz as “good talks.”

The revealing section of #enlargement package concerns the #Commission’s assessment of the target dates set by some candidates to conclude accession talks. Reforms in 🇲🇪 and 🇦🇱 are on track, while 🇺🇦 and 🇲🇩 need to accelerate the pace. 👇🏼

Today, Marta #Kos presents her first #enlargement reports — and for the first time in almost a decade, perhaps since 2017, there is genuine anticipation about their content.

Today 🇸🇪 announced it will adjust its support to 🇷🇸, meaning parts of the aid to state authorities will be discontinued. The reason? “Developments in Serbia have gone in the wrong direction – from growing corruption to failure to uphold the rule of law...

Someone asked: what do we remember from the latest #BerlinProcess summit in #London? Silence. Then someone said: “The photos with #King #Charles?” Indeed, when it comes to deliverables, this year’s summit will not be remembered for delivering.

This morning in #Sarajevo, 🇪🇺 high representative Kaja #Kallas reaffirmed her April 2025 pledge: the 🇪🇺 — including its military forces — stands ready to defend the unity, constitutional order, peace, and territorial integrity of 🇧🇦.

Latest Eurobarometer shows that 🇽🇰’s 🇪🇺 membership enjoys majority support in three non-recognisers – 🇪🇸, 🇷🇴 and 🇸🇰. In the remaining two – 🇬🇷 and 🇨🇾 – support stands at 44 and 40 percent.

Statement by the 🇪🇺 delegation in 🇷🇸 – endorsed by 26 member states. Absent? 🇭🇺 Naturally. Statement? “On this sad anniversary, we appeal to everyone to mourn the victims in a dignified and peaceful manner.” europa.rs/statement-on...

Today’s #UN #SecurityCouncil session on 🇧🇦 extended the mandate of the 🇪🇺-led military mission (#EUFOR #Althea) for another year — and revealed subtle shifts in Western positions on the Office of the High Representative (#OHR) and its “Bonn powers”:

Odluku o ukidanju 🇺🇸 sankcija Milorad Dodik predstavlja kao veliku pobjedu – ne samo svoju, već i pobjedu skupe lobističke kampanje koju su u njegovo ime vodili brojni saveznici bivšeg američkog predsjednika Donalda Trumpa. O istoj piše The New York Times 👇 www.index.hr/vijesti/clan...

🇩🇰🇦🇱🇪🇺 “🇦🇱 is an important NATO partner aiming for EU membership in 2030 -a goal 🇩🇰 fully supports.”

🇦🇱 prime minister Edi #Rama tells Gordon #Repinski that 🇩🇪 chancellor Friedrich #Merz now firmly supports 🇦🇱’s 🇪🇺 membership aspirations: “Now, of course, yes. He [Merz] said it very clearly: we want you in the Union, and there is no more time to lose.”

Be it digitalisation and cyber security, the energy transition, labour markets, the Growth Plan, or challenges such as transport and brain drain, there is currently one group of countries that stands out: 🇲🇪 and 🇦🇱.

🇫🇷 President Emmanuel #Macron met the three members of the 🇧🇦 #Presidency and 🇪🇺 enlargement commissioner Marta #Kos in Paris. Together, they reaffirmed their “commitment to the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of 🇧🇦, as well as to the stability of the entire region.”

“The Treasury Department did not provide an explanation for the sanctions relief in its announcement, and a spokesman declined to comment. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/u...

Today’s 🇺🇸 Treasury decision to lift sanctions on the entire leadership of Republika Srpska – including Milorad #Dodik, his family, business partners and companies – without any public explanation leaves significant room for speculation about motives and what comes next.

🇺🇸 Treasury has announced the removal of around 30 individuals and nearly 20 companies linked to Milorad #Dodik from the #sanctions list.

Following his meeting in Minsk with 🇷🇺 foreign minister Sergey #Lavrov, Milorad #Dodik stated that “it was agreed that the mandate of the [🇪🇺-led] #Althea [military] mission should be extended, which #Russia will support [during the 31 October UN Security Council vote].”

Whenever 🇪🇺-led dialogue between 🇽🇰 & 🇷🇸 achieved real change on the ground and made life easier for citizens and businesses, it was because 🇪🇺 had something to offer both 🇷🇸 & 🇽🇰.

Does this sound like the high representative’s SOS call to get him out of 🇧🇦? www.thetimes.com/world/europe...

Rainy #Mostar has two sides. And, no, not the ones you might think. One side reveals the beauty of bridges, river, and stories that bind people together. The other shows how fragile trust remains — in 🇧🇦, in the region, and in 🇪🇺 debates on its future.

Discussions in Berlin on 🇩🇪 [and 🇪🇺] policy towards 🇷🇸 are lively, unpredictable, and ongoing — including on the position of 🇷🇸’s Progressive Party (#SNS) within the #EPP.

Posjeta Predsjednice Europske komisije Beogradu treba se posmatrati iz ugla cijelog regiona i njene osnovne poruke: 🇲🇪 i 🇦🇱 su u fokusu. O odnosu nove 🇩🇪 vlade prema 🇷🇸 i regionu, kontekstu razgovora u Bundestagu i zastoju u pregovorima 🇷🇸. Za agenciju #Beta 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyGl...

The initiative would allow countries currently on the path to membership to enjoy many of the benefits of EU membership but without veto rights. www.politico.eu/article/new-...

Last night, Republika Srpska’s ruling coalition appointed Ana #Trišić #Babić as interim RS president. A long-time advisor to Milorad #Dodik, Trišić Babić is widely regarded as part of his inner circle and one of his remaining channels of communication with Western diplomats and policymakers.

🇧🇦🇪🇺 Resta da vedere se, con l'offerta dell'agenda di riforme e la prospettiva di avviare i negoziati di adesione, sarà possibile ricostituire una coalizione che governi fino alle prossime elezioni dell'ottobre 2026.

Unlike in 🇲🇪 and 🇦🇱, where both the government and the European Commission have set a target date to achieve full preparedness for 🇪🇺 membership, in 🇷🇸 neither the 🇪🇺 nor the government pretend such ambition exists.

The New York Times’ @kenvogel.bsky.social reconstructs in detail an influence campaign reaching deep into President #Trump’s inner circle to cast 🇧🇦 Serb leader Milorad #Dodik as a victim of political persecution.

The 🇪🇺 policy in 🇧🇦 has been clear since March 2025: Milorad #Dodik personally is not a partner, but the rest of the state coalition is encouraged to find a way to work with SNSD representatives.

Despite all the talk about a “new momentum” in 🇪🇺 enlargement since 2022, the European Commission’s own assessments tell a sobering story. At the pace of reforms seen from 2022 to [October] 2024, 🇦🇱 would need 14 years to be ready for membership. 🇲🇩, 15. 🇺🇦 and 🇲🇪, 21. And 🇧🇦 — never.

It is not just a narrative on the new momentum. There is also a growing sense – in Brussels & other capitals – that 🇪🇺 #enlargement is truly back on the agenda. With Ditmir #Bushati in his #PublicSquare 👇🏼

This year marks a quarter century of #HDZBiH’s efforts to change 🇧🇦’s electoral law. The goal: to ensure that one member of the presidency and (almost) all seats in the Croat caucuses of 🇧🇦’s upper parliamentary chambers are elected from areas with Croat majorities.

Next Friday at Europe House in #Belgrade, we will discuss the European Union’s evolving global role and its foreign policy in the Western #Balkans. 🇷🇸🇪🇺 www.isac-fund.org/en/event/con... International and Security Affairs Centre - #ISAC

Dear young leaders from 🇷🇸🇧🇦🇲🇪, Applications are now open for #BOLD25 Balkan Regional Youth Leadership Workshop: Community Engagement in the 21st Century, organised by Bard College’s Center for Civic Engagement. 📅 Deadline: 25 October 2025 🔗 Learn more and apply via the links below ⬇️

Indeed, the journey towards 🇪🇺 membership has, for the six Western Balkan states, turned into a decades-long walk through the desert. Since 2022, many have spoken of new momentum. And while, yes, the #EU27 have taken more decisions and done so more quickly.

🇽🇰 applied for 🇪🇺 membership is December 2022. It has now been 33 months since then — and the next step, for the Council to ask the European Commission for its opinion, is still pending. One reason: 5 members don't recognise 🇽🇰. The latest #Eurobarometer shows how citizens view #Kosovo’s #EU bid 👇