DR. BILJANA VANKOVSKA | THE BALKANS — EU HOSTAGES WITH STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

For decades, the Balkans were promised a future inside the European Union. Instead, much of the region remains trapped between endless conditions, political dependency, and constantly shifting rules. In this episode, Professor Biljana Vankovska discusses NATO dependency, the erosion of international law, the war in Ukraine, Gaza, the European Union’s growing identity crisis, and why many people across the Balkans increasingly feel like permanent hostages of the EU accession process. From North Macedonia’s name change to the collapse of the Open Balkan project, this is a conversation about power, dependency, political frustration — and a region still waiting for answers.