The Thorny Road to the European Integration of the Western Balkans Region
The Thorny Road to the European Integration of the Western Balkans Region
Author(s): Silvo DevetakSubject(s): Politics, Regional Geography, International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Mednarodni inštitut za bližnjevzhodne in balkanske študije IFIMES
Keywords: Western Balkans; enlargement policy of the European Union; reconciliation; Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Kosovo; Montenegro; Republic of North Macedonia; Serbia;
Summary/Abstract: The so far EU enlargement policy towards the WB6 countries needs fresh strategy and operational programs for its realization. The new approach should stimulate developments that are contributing to the stability and progress of WB6 countries and of the region as a whole. In doing this the EU should develop more systematic cooperation with other international organizations. Reconciliation is a precondition for an efficient EU enlargement process. Therefore, the EU should find ways and means to support, with adequate measures, the elaborated and well-aimed reconciliation processes, which achievements would create a favorable environment for the solution of particular existing problems in the region and thus ensure the systematic integration of WB6 countries into the EU system of values. Besides, the needs genuine regional cooperation based on reconciliation tenet. For its credibility, the EU should first declare strongly its “one voice” commitment to the close cooperation with the WB6 countries, aimed at realizing their overwhelming inclusion in the EU political and economic structure and the emerging common foreign, security, and defense policy as well.
Journal: International scientific journal European Perspectives
- Issue Year: 13/2022
- Issue No: 1 (23)
- Page Range: 55-81
- Page Count: 17
- Language: English