In 2018, the European Commission put the Western Balkans back in the policy agenda by designating them as a political challenge with its new Western Balkans Strategy, because of the increased presence of external powers like China or Russia. This is concerning to the European Union because, on the one side, Von der Leyen’s ‘geopolitical Commission’ has made a commitment to the region to speed up the Enlargement process as a remedy for the widespread ‘Enlargement fatigue’ in Western Balkan countries among their societies and political elites, and on the other hand, because the presence of foreign powers that align to a different set of values and rules can have pervasive effects of the regulatory environment and national security in these countries, delaying the acquisition of the acquis communautaire as the main requirement for their entry as EU Member States. In this context, the audiovisual and media industry has a key role to play.
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