We would like to express our gratitude to all of you for making the first concluding conference of this EUVALWEB edition such a fruitful and stimulating scientific event.

Convened by the organizing committee of Profs. Teresa Russo, Marina Matić Bošković, Jelena Kostić, Ivana Bodrožić, and Valentina Ranaldi, the event was meant to serve as a forum for discussion and comparison of the steps taken and yet to be taken to bring the legal systems of the accession states into line with the criteria of EU membership.

We sincerely believe the event met its expectations and achieved all its goals.

On May 30, 2024, the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research of Belgrade served as a suitable venue for an intense and serious discussion about the possibility of EU enlargement into the Western Balkans.

Great outcomes resulted from the conference proceedings, which were masterfully opened by the welcome speech of H.E. Luca Gotti, the Italian Ambassador to Serbia, as well as from the speeches of the keynote and guest speakers, and young researchers from the academic and professional world, who animated the various sessions of the conference, enriched by the participation of police trainees and representatives of the public and civil society.

Some pictures of the conference day are available at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.965155238734359&type=3

We also wish to thank the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research, the Institute of Comparative Law and the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies of Belgrade for their media coverage of the event:

1) https://www.iksi.ac.rs/galerija_en.html

2) https://iup.rs/en/news/vesti-iz-2024/odrzana-zavrsna-konferencija-u-okviru-jean-monnet-programa/

3) https://www.kpu.edu.rs/cms/akademija/izdvajamo/vesti/9555-odrzana-zavrsna-medjunarodna-konferencija-jeann-monnet-projekta-euvalweb

Conclusively, a publication of the conference proceedings is slated for early 2025.

We are very excited because the first concluding conference of the second Jean Monnet EUVALWEB Chair is going to take place. With the participation of distinguished speakers from the academic, diplomatic and professional worlds, as well as civil society and the public, both from Western Balkans and Italy, the conference on “Promoting Public Awareness on the Fight Against Transnational Crimes, the Role of Police and Judicial Cooperation and Respect for Fundamental Rights in the Prospect of the EU Enlargement” intends to provide a forum for the debate on the process of accession to the Union and on the main reforms implemented in the Western Balkan countries, and in the Union in general, for its future.

Link to the full flyer.

The following events will be held within the Jean Monnet Chair “Promoting Public Awareness on Enlargement, EU Values and the Western Balkans’ Accession” (EUVALWEB) (Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Teresa Russo, Associate Professor of EU Law at the Department of Legal Sciences – DSG UNISA). The seminars will be open for discussion with the participants. For further information, please refer to the respective flyers.

24 May 2024
On May 24, 2024, starting at 10:30 a.m., at the “Scarano” Hall, DSG UNISA, will take place the Conference of the EU Legal Clinic Cooperation on Justice and Home Affairs: Insights on “Comparing Perspectives on the Fight Against Corruption under International, European and National Law”. The Conference, introduced and chaired by Prof. Teresa Russo (Associate Professor of European Union Law, DSG UNISA, Holder of the EUVALWEB Chair), will be animated by the reports of Prof. Erjon Hitaj (Lecturer in International Law, Director of the Department of Law, “Ismail Qemali” University of Vlore – Albania, Member of the EUVALWEB Legal Observatory), Prof. Nikola Šaranović (Lecturer in Public International Law and Fundamentals of European Union Law, Faculty of Legal Sciences and Humanities, University of Donja Gorica, Podgorica – Montenegro, Member of the EUVALWEB Team Chair) and Prof. Svetoslav Spassov (Associate and Director of the Nuclear Security Support Center, Department of National and Regional Security, University of National and World Economy, Sofia – Bulgaria)

LINK to the flyer

27 May 2024
On 27 May 2024, starting at 10:30 a.m., the EUVALWEB Chair Course Seminar on “The European Public Prosecutor’s Office: Open Questions (EPPO)£ will take place in Hall 4 of DSG UNISA. The Seminar, also introduced by Prof. Teresa Russo, will be chaired by Prof. Luigi Kalb (Full Professor of Criminal Procedure, DSG UNISA) and will have as its main speaker Dr. Lorenzo Salazar (Deputy General Prosecutor at the Court of Appeal of Naples, Contact Point of the European Judicial Network and National Correspondent of Eurojust, as well as Member of the EUVALWEB Team Chair). This will be followed by the scheduled speech of Dr. Luigi Palmieri (Adjunct Professor of Criminal Procedure, DSG UNISA).

LINK to the flyer

We are overjoyed to have finished the second module, “Enlargement as a Policy to Promote Peace and Security in Europe“. Promoting awareness of the latter is especially important, as it is unquestionably one of the most delicate parts of this historic moment for Europe.

Dr. Andrea Cascone’s seminar on May 6, 2024, which explored the intricate process of the Balkan countries’ ongoing accession, and Prof. Ivana Bodrožić’s seminar on May 9, 2024, which helped participants better understand the main security-related issues – particularly those pertaining to the prosecution of transnational crimes – and candidate states’ adaptation to the Union acquis, enhanced this module.

Furthermore, our students took part in a workshop where they were asked to provide their opinions on how the EU promotes peace and security. This is an important component of the EUVALWEB Jean Monnet Chair since it gives participants the freedom to openly share their opinions regarding the questions that will be discussed during our second final conference at Unisa’s Department of Legal Sciences.

Pictures of 6 May: LINK

Pictures of 9 May (Seminar): LINK

Pictures of 9 May (Workshop): LINK

With great excitement, the first module of the EUVALWEB Chair’s Course, second edition, has finished.

By comprehending the relationship between enlargement and deepening as two distinct expressions of integration, the participating students—both Italian and Erasmus students—deepened their grasp of the history of European integration and its current state.
The students were also requested to provide their personal opinions on the political, legal, and geographical boundaries of the Union’s integration and enlargement process during the workshop intended to wrap up Module 1, including their advantages and disadvantages as well as their sustainability.

Additionally, we are grateful to Leonardo Pasquali, a member of the teaching staff at the EUVALWEB Chair and full professor of international law at the University of Pisa, for his invaluable scientific contribution to the first module with his lecture on “Upholding and Promoting EU Values in International Agreements” and Prof. Francesco Buonomenna, Member of the EUVALWEB Legal Observatory and Associate Professor of European Union Law, DSG UNISA, with whom the event is co-organized (Chairs of European Union Law, DSG UNISA, and of Institutions of European Union Law, DISPC UNISA).

Check out the photo galleries:

Workshop, 2 May 2024: LINK 

Seminar, 3 May 2024: LINK