Good neighbourly relations are a central pillar of the European Union’s enlargement policy, particularly in the Western Balkans, where unresolved bilateral disputes continue to shape political stability, regional cooperation, and EU integration prospects.

This publication, authored by Milica Kovačević and produced by the Center for Democratic Transition within the IGNITA initiative, examines how the principle of good neighbourly relations operates in practice in the context of the Western Balkans enlargement, and how it interacts with existing political and institutional realities.

The report maps key bilateral disputes across the region, ranging from border demarcation and minority rights to identity conflicts and unresolved war legacies, while examining how these issues are instrumentalised by domestic political elites and, at times, enabled by inconsistencies in the EU enlargement framework.

By critically assessing both regional political dynamics and the EU’s role, the publication calls for a more predictable, reciprocal, and value-based approach to good neighbourly relations as a foundation for sustainable peace and credible European integration in the Western Balkans.