October 2025

Carnegie Europe published an article How the Western Balkans Can Contribute to European Defense in October 2025. This article examines the potential contribution of the Western Balkans to European security and defense. Given the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the EU’s efforts to strengthen its defense capacities, the region is no longer viewed merely as a beneficiary of stability, but as an entity capable of contributing to the continent’s security.

The analysis highlights the Western Balkans’ strengths, particularly its defense industry, ammunition production capabilities and growing participation in NATO and European Union missions. It argues that the region’s gradual integration into European defense initiatives could strengthen both European resilience and the membership perspectives of the countries concerned.

However, this perspective remains limited by several obstacles, including the region’s geopolitical divisions between NATO members, persistent weaknesses in security institutions, corruption and a lack of investment in military equipment. The final point worth mentioning is the economy. It is difficult to attract strategic international investment in small economies unless they join forces.

The three NATO member countries : Albania, North Macedonia, and Montenegro should lead the way. The report therefore calls for increased regional partnerships, modernize their militaries and defense sectors and integrate gradually into the union’s new defense initiatives in order to make the Western Balkans a net contributor to European security.

You can find the article How the Western Balkans Can Contribute to European Defense by Dimitar Bechev and Iliriana Gjoni here.