This online event is part of the international project: “Human rights in the 21st century”.

The EU integration of South East Europe is intensifying as North Macedonia and Albania are to start the accession talks either at the end of the year or in early 2021. The process of scrutiny of the respect of human rights and rule of law in the region gains new momentum.
That process happens in parallel with the novelty in the functioning of the EU, which as of 2020 started publishing annual reports on the respect of Rule of law and fundamental rights not only of the candidate countries, but also of the member states of the EU. Now the traditional instruments of the Council of Europe as continental institutional guardian of human rights and democracy are further empowered by the EU mechanisms.
With a massive reform agenda looming, among the political elites in SE Europe some raise a dilemma What Comes First – Human Rights or Rule of Law. What would be the answer to this question, and whether this is a dilemma at all, we’ll discuss with prominent experts from SEE and EU.
With our debate we want to offer space for analysis of the current trends across the region – the EU integration process which focuses on the key negotiating chapters related to the democratic structures and rule of law, the outcome of the recent electoral processes, the on-going protests in some [SE] European countries, the ever present questions about respect minority rights, and the events related to ethnic/religious-based violence. The debate will also touch on the relevance of EU’s Fundamental Rights charter.