Rules or Deals? The EU‘s Challenge in Regulating Corrosive Capital in the Western Balkans

The publication examines the role of foreign investment in the Western Balkans particularly from the United Arab Emirates in the real estate and coastal infrastructure sectors, using case studies from Montenegro, Albania, and Serbia. 

In light of this we want to discuss assessments of the impact of EU enlargement policy on governance of the currently most promising candidate countries. How should the EU /candidate countries ensure that foreign investment in the Western Balkans strengthens institutional resilience rather than deepening existing governance gaps? What mechanisms can ensure that public interests are heard over political deals?

With:

• Iliriana Gjoni, Lead Author, Carnegie Europe -  Brussels
• Sonja Dragović, Researcher in Urbanism and Public Policy KANA, (Montenegro) – Lisboa
• Mareike Bodderas, Senior Policy Officer Division II5, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection -  Berlin
• Malte Hauschild, Head of Division EB5, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action - Berlin

Commentaries

• Alba Çela, Albanian Institute for International Studies - Tirana (online)
• Daliborka Uljarević, Center for Civic Education - Podgorica (online)

Moderation: Katja Giebel, Heinrich Boell Foundation Berlin

Plse find the publication "Rules or Deals? The EU’s Challenge in Regulating Corrosive Capital in the Western Balkans" here. 

The publication was produced jointly by Carnegie Europe and the Heinrich Böll Foundation as part of a shared initiative on foreign investment and governance in the Western Balkans. It builds on discussions from a policy roundtable held in Ulqin, Ulcinj (Montenegro) in September 2025, co-organised with the Centre for Civic Education (CGO-CCE), the Centre for the Protection and Study of Birds (CZIP), and the Dr Martin Schneider-Jacoby Association (MSJA), whose representatives also presented case analyses that informed this study.