EU Financial Assistance to the Western Balkans
EU Financial Assistance to the Western Balkans

Author: Heidrun Ferrari

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 9781907919039

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Since the early 1990s, the European Union (EU) has been the largest donor to the countries of the Western Balkans -- Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. Since the late 1990s, the main focus of this engagement has been ensuring political and economic stabilization and the consolidation of democracy and civil society in the region. The need to address the needs and priorities of minority groups was early on identified as a key component in the process of ensuring long-term democratic stabilization. But as this study shows, despite this commitment, neither the CARDS nor the IPA development programme have succeeded in consistently addressing minority issues and supporting civil society organizations (CSOs) representing minority issues, or in having a profound, positive impact on the lives of marginalized minority groups in the region. This study provides a minority-rights focused assessment of the EU's principal development programmes for engagement in the region -- the Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation (CARDS) programme (which ran from 2002 until 2006) and the current Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) programme. Drawing on policy and programme documents, as well as material collected by partner organizations in the region during workshops and interviews with minority CSOs, the report assesses the extent to which minority inclusion and protection forms a part of the current IPA strategy and programming, looking particularly at minority participation in public life, access to education and access to employment.

EU Enlargement and its Impact to the Western Balkans
EU Enlargement and its Impact to the Western Balkans

Author: Elton Tota

Publisher: Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH

Published: 2019-08-21

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 3832549641

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The aim of this book is to highlight the relationship between the EU and the Western Balkan countries in light of their EU membership perspective and the impact that the EU Enlargement of Central and Eastern European countries at the beginning of the twenty first century has given to the Western Balkans. The book presents, in depth, the dual relationship between the EU and the Western Balkans. On the one hand it displays the continuous EU role in the Western Balkans, in particular in issues such as: the EU accession criteria; the EU approach and enlargement strategy; the visa liberalization process; the Stabilization and Association Process; the Stabilization and Association Agreements; instruments of financial assistance; the EU role in restoring and keeping peace and stability and in increasing the regional cooperation among the Western Balkans countries. On the other hand, it presents and analyses the progress the Western Balkans have achieved and the challenges faced such as: initially with the implementation of the bilateral Free Trade Agreements and then the regional Free Trade Agreement and the Stabilization and Association Agreements; nature and effects of these agreements in developing markets, in increasing trade exchanges among the Western Balkans countries; the progress each country has made toward lasting growth and in fulfilling the criteria of the EU integration process. The book reflects the regional approach of EU towards those countries while differentiating the individual progress in each country. This gives the book an interdisciplinary character. The latest enlargement experiences of the EU are used as a comparison for the current EU policy towards Western Balkans, while confirming a clear integration perspective for the region.

EU Enlargement Policy in the Western Balkans. Instruments for Pre-accesion Assistance
EU Enlargement Policy in the Western Balkans. Instruments for Pre-accesion Assistance

Author: Cristina Alonso Martínez

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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This essay focuses on the enlargement policy in the Western Balkans, its strategic importance and the challenges for the coming future. It starts with a general overview about the policy itself, looking at the requisites to join the EU, the procedure to carry out by EU institutions and Member States, and the current situation in terms of accession negotiations. A special focus is given to the Western Balkan countries, not only as individual countries, but also as a region, analysing their path towards the EU, as well as the main objectives for the coming years. Furthermore, the social opinion about enlargements is taken into consideration as a key element within the whole process of integration, together with other EU instruments and measures. The EU, by providing financial support to candidate countries, is helping them in their accession journey . That is why, this essay also analyses the instrument for pre-accession assistance with a description of the current situation in each of the countries and the main projects carried out under this assistance. Keywords: Enlargement policy, European Union, Western Balkans, Pre-Accession assistance.

The Impact of the Crisis on the EU Perspective of the Western Balkans
The Impact of the Crisis on the EU Perspective of the Western Balkans

Author: Rumiana Jeleva

Publisher: Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies

Published: 2012-04-29

Total Pages: 129

ISBN-13: 2930632216

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Please find a free PDF download available here: http://martenscentre.eu/publications/impact-crisis-eu-perspective-western-balkans Like elsewhere in Europe, the crisis has affected economic developments in the Western Balkans, from Croatia in the north to Albania in the south. The countries in the region face difficulties such as high unemployment, decreased availability of bank credit and reduced trade. Furthermore, the inability of their political institutions to deal immediately with these economic challenges has reinforced the negative effects of the crisis. What does this mean for the Western BalkansÕ accession to and integration within the EU? This paper by Rumiana Jeleva shows that improving the economic situation is an essential precondition for public support for EU integration. At the same time it argues that the pro-European orientation of the Western Balkans ensures that they will continue to look towards the EU, rather than to the US or Russia. This is demonstrated by the fact that they are not merely taking measures to recover from the crisis: they are taking measures that are aligned with European regulations. The Western Balkan countries may have a long way to go to become EU members, but they have proven their commitment to a future within the EU by their pro-European solutions to the crisis. This makes it all the more important for the EU, even in this time of crisis, to continue to support the accession process and bring the Western Balkans closer to the EU.

The Western Balkans in Transition
The Western Balkans in Transition

Author: European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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The publication covers Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and Kosovo.

Europe's Troubled Region
Europe's Troubled Region

Author: William Bartlett

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2007-12-21

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1134650965

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The countries of the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and the province of Kosovo - form a core European region. The region is known for its instability and recent history of wars and civil conflicts, but far less is known about the changes that have taken place in the economic and social welfare systems and the dynamic processes of transition, development and European integration that have been taking place over the last twenty years. Although economic growth has been firmly established, many problems remain in relation to the labour markets where there is high unemployment, large informal economies, and widespread poverty. The book discusses the role of welfare reforms, international aid and European integration in addressing these difficulties. The author argues that the resistance to reforms which were initiated under the communist system in former Yugoslavia led to the break up of the country and that since then a group of early reforming countries have made fast progress in institutional reform and have been at the forefront of EU integration. He also acknowledges that the main problems have been among a group of late reformers including two international protectorates where aid dependence has held back progress with institutional reforms. The book concludes that the resolution of these problems will unblock the completion of the transition, development and EU integration in the region and open for the way for a more stable and prosperous future.

Stabilizing and Integrating the Balkans
Stabilizing and Integrating the Balkans

Author: Paul J.J. Welfens

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2001-04-10

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9783540417750

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The complex challenge of economic recovery and reconstruction in the Balkans is looked at in this book. The Balkan Stability Pact stands for a networked approach of international organizations to deal with these problems. This analysis critically looks into strategies, actors, and preliminary results. There are shortcomings and inconsistencies and there is some potential for transatlantic conflicts over the issue of burden sharing. There is also a risk of EU imperial overstretch facing eastern and south-eastern EU enlargement.

The National Politics of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans
The National Politics of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans

Author: James Ker-Lindsay

Publisher:

Published: 2019-11-26

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780367432690

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The National Politics of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans examines the way in which a number of European Union member states, including Germany and France, formulate their policies towards enlargement in the Western Balkans. The six countries of the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia - are on course to become the next members of the European Union. While there has been a lot of work on the ways in which these countries are preparing for accession, and how the EU as a whole approaches the question of expansion, very little attention has been paid to how individual EU member states regard enlargement into a region that presents a number of serious challenges, including the legacies of the conflicts of the 1990s, economic underdevelopment and poor governance. Focusing on key states, such as Germany, France and Italy, the neighbouring countries of Central and South East Europe, and Britain, once a leading advocate of enlargement that is now in the process of leaving the European Union, this volume casts important new empirical and conceptual light on the diverse motivations that underpin member state attitudes towards EU enlargement. The National Politics of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans will be of great interest to scholars of the European Union, European politics, and the politics of the Western Balkans. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.

Responding to the Balkans Challenge
Responding to the Balkans Challenge

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. Select Committee on the European Union

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 9780104089026

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The European Union is the largest donor to the countries in the Western Balkans. The Select Committee therefore thought it appropriate to look at how the EU aid was being planned, delivered, implemented and evaluated. It concluded that there was a strong case for substantial EU assistance and a need to support initiatives that are likely to prevent a return to violent conflict, especially as the EU is committed to a process that might eventually lead to EU membership for countries in the region. There was a welcome for EU's review of its external assistance but it is still to early to assess the impact of the reforms on the delivery of assistance.

Western Balkan Economies in Transition
Western Balkan Economies in Transition

Author: Reiner Osbild

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-08-23

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 3319936654

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This book explores the economic and social development of the Western Balkan region, a group of six countries that are potential candidates for EU membership. It focuses on the key economic issues facing these countries, including the challenge of promoting economic growth, limiting public deficits and debt, and fostering international trade relations. Given the severe impact of the recent economic crisis on social welfare in the region, it also investigates the nature and extent of social exclusion, a factor likely to produce future political instabilities if not effectively addressed by a return to sustainable economic growth. The contributions explore these issues in light of the major influence of EU policy instruments and advice, which are currently guiding the economies along an accession trajectory to future EU membership.