Skopje – ESI at panel discussion and political school in Skopje

Kristof spoke on the opening panel on "The Western Balkans' Path Forward" alongside former president Stevo Pendarovski, former Serbian ambassador to the US Ivan Vujacic, researcher Lura Pollozhani and Miodrag Milosavljevic, deputy director of the Open Society Foundations in the Western Balkans. The debate was moderated by Ana Petruseva, bureau chief of BIRN Skopje.

On 9 April, Kristof led a session on "EU enlargement without illusions" for the first cohort of the "Echoes of Democracy" school, comprising two dozens of young professionals from across the Western Balkans. The session examined the current pressures and constraints surrounding the revival of the EU accession process, which suffers from low credibility and low effectiveness. As a way to square the circle — making an urgently needed credible and attractive offer while remaining within the bounds of what current EU member states will accept — the group explored the idea of offering the four freedoms and full access to the EU's Single Market as an interim step towards full membership for all accession countries from 2027 onwards, contingent on meeting the necessary conditions including the rule of law.