Naslov
The Western Balkans Security Disfunction and the EU Response: From Pacification to Integration

Autori
Knezović, Sandro

Izvornik
Croatian International Relations Review (1331-1182) X (2004), 36/37; 167-171

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
European Union; Sotheastern Europe; security; regional co-operation; accession

Sažetak
The sudden collapse of communism let loose long piled-up tensions that led to the disintegration not only of Yugoslavia, but also of the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. At the same time Europe had to cope with the challenge of German unification. The disintegration of Yugoslavia ended in a bloody scenario with ethnic cleansing, genocide and war crimes. As fighting broke out in ex-Yugoslavia, the EU was caught in the procedural vacuum between its leading member states after the end of the Cold war. Owing to this and to obvious differences in crucial strategic interests of its member states, the Union could not react appropriately to the crisis and the new vision of political unity started to face concrete obstacles in its very beginning. After the end of the war, various stability initiatives for the region started to develop and the EU took the leading role in this process. Despite major efforts to stabilize both the individual countries and the entire region, the progress made over the last decade has been fragile, as the 1999 Kosovo crisis belatedly demonstrated. It was clear that region needed a stronger initiative. This led the EU to introduce a substantial innovation: the Stabilisation and Association Process. This Process offers the possibility for the countries of the region to sign a new kind of Agreement, i.e. the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU, thus for the first time opening concrete perspectives for the EU accession. In 1988 the EU did the same for the Central and Eastern European countries by launching the enlargement process and opening of accession negotiations. After many failed attempts, the gradual accession to the EU has motivated the countries of the region for a closer co-operation. Due to different historical legacy those countries had completely different geo-strategic goals and that was their first common goal. For political leaders of the region, and more importantly, for the people in general, Europe is a syntagm without an alternative and the vast majority of citizens are aware that it is the future also for this area.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Politologija

POVEZANOST RADA