Analysis: For a more regional approach to the Balkans by the EU

In this policy paper published by Notre Europe, Bertrand De Largentaye, Fabien Dupuis and Tamara Buschek argue that the time has come for the European Union to assess where things stand in the Western Balkans, since Europe has an asset like no other – the prospect of membership.

Ten years after Dayton, six years after NATO intervened to put an end to the violence in Kosovo, the wars of Yugoslav succession finally seem to be over, but the Yugoslav succession itself is still in a sense open. In May there will be a referendum in Montenegro on whether or not the country maintains its union with Serbia. The final status of Kosovo has not yet been determined, even though it looks highly likely that it will involve severing the link with Serbia. The people from the three main faiths in Bosnia-Herzegovina are not yet ready to be reconciled. The proceedings at the tribunal in The Hague against alleged war criminals are far from over.

This policy paper gives an overview of the current situation in the Western Balkans and underlines the importance of the EU’s role in that region.

To read this paper in full, please click here.