BALKANLAR - Deneme Sınavı - 3

1945

6 - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia

1948

1992

1992

1991

Western Balkans encompasses Balkan countries which are not members of the EU (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Republic of Kosovo, North Macedonia (formerly FYROM: Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia) Serbia and Croatia, Southeastern Europe as well as Bulgaria and Romania which are members of the EU and sometimes Turkey.

While Romania and Bulgaria, which became full members of the EU in 2007, relatively solved their problems, the Western Balkans region still faces a series of challenges

Ethnic identities are still the main factor in determining political preferences, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia. People vote for a political party that represents their ethnicity. There are very few political parties in these countries that represent the entire population.

Greece, the oldest EU member of the Balkans, has a fragile economy that could trigger a new euro crisis for the European Central Bank at any time, while in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean also escalating conflicts with neighbouring Turkey.

Some regional NGOs under the umbrella of the British Saferworld organization submitted a report in April 2012 examining the impact of existing borders on the lives of people living along the borders of the Western Balkans. This report indicates a number of conflict issues between Kosovo- Montenegro, Kosovo -Serbia, Montenegro -Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina - Croatia that create problems in the life of the people and in border crossings.

Since both Bosnia and Kosovo could not have a strong central structure and were divided among ethnic elements, it was easier for Western powers to seize and maintain control in these countries. Today, the most recent examples of the international protection model in the Balkans are Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

Figure 7.4 EU Integration Process of Western Balkans on page 180

Croatia’s EU membership was a significant success, as it was the first regional representative and the first country to enter the post-conflict Union.

Camp Bondsteel, the largest US military base outside the US, has been built in Kosovo since the Vietnam War.

Currently, one of China’s most important allies in the Balkans is Serbia. In August 2009, Serbian President Boris Tadic went to China and a strategic cooperation agreement was signed between the two countries.