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This year could also be "decisive" for Croatia if it makes "substantial progress" with its judicial and administrative reforms, with the fight against corruption and the restructuring of its ship-building industry.

For their part, potential candidates Albania and Montenegro need to build a "convincing track record over the implementation of the SAAs and pursue reforms with determination," while Kosovo must ensure its commitment to a "democratic and multi-ethnic society".

In the aftermath of the most ambitious accession bargain, attention has been directed away from EU negotiations to the tricky task of selling the elite enlargement deal to the voters. Focusing on past enlargement rounds, this book explores the link between diverse elite motives for pursuing membership and relatively constant variation in EU public support. National elite attitudes to integration contain the clues to the explanation of why utilitarian and affective support has traditionally been higher in some countries than in others. EU public opinion does not simply reflect the economic interests and identities of individuals faced with an objective reality. Rather, citizens face an endogenously shaped world, filtered by elite opinions on membership. Drawing upon "flexibility," this book advances a model of "theoretical differentiation" distinguishing between rationally and affectively driven entrants. Empirically, the tenacity of "differentiation" in EU legitimacy is examined through the use of original and secondary data. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, this study aspires to further debate on enlargement and public opinion engaging scholars and EU practitioners.

From membership conditionality to policy conditionality: EU external governance in South Eastern Europe Author: Florian Trauner (Show Biography) DOI: 10.1080/13501760902983564 Publication Frequency: 8 issues per year Published in: Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 16, Issue 5 August 2009 , pages 774 - 790 Subjects: European Studies; Public Policy; Formats available: HTML (English) : PDF (English) Article Requests: Order Reprints : Request Permissions In order to give pricing details we need to know your country. Please register and/or sign in to identify your country. Sign In Online Sample View Article: View Article (PDF) View Article (HTML) Abstract In view of the uncertainty about the final outcome of the current enlargement process, how effective is the EU's acquis conditionality in South Eastern Europe? By elaborating on the example of justice and home affairs, the article argues that the EU's external leverage has remained strong, as the EU has developed additional ways to render its conditionality approach credible. Although the hurdles for entering the EU have been raised, Croatia's compliance efforts can be considered to be similar to the logic observed in the eastern enlargement. The key to understanding the compliance of Macedonia, whose membership prospect is less certain or even questionable, is to take into account policy conditionality in addition to membership conditionality. The EU managed to compensate for less credible membership rewards by substantially increasing the value of the policy reward of visa-free travel. This strategy was effective but has created tensions with regard to the EU's broader objectives in the region. Keywords: Conditionality; enlargement; external governance; justice and home affairs; South Eastern Europe

Durch den Zerfall Jugoslawiens 1991 und die militärischen Auseinandersetzungen in Folge der Unabhängigkeitserklärung einzelner Staaten rückte der Balkan einmal mehr in den Fokus der Weltöffentlichkeit. Dabei spielten sowohl Kroatien als auch Bosnien-Herzegowina eine elementare Rolle. Seit der Unterzeichnung des Friedensvertrages von Dayton haben sich beide Staaten jedoch sehr unterschiedlich entwickelt. Somit stehen beide auch auf einer anderen Stufe hinsichtlich ihrer Bestrebungen, der EU beizutreten: Für Kroatien scheint ein Beitritt bald Realität zu werden, Bosnien-Herzegowina hingegen ist noch weit entfernt. Die Studie geht der Frage nach, wieso sich beide Staaten in so unterschiedlichen Stadien hinsichtlich ihrer Beitrittsperspektiven befinden. Neben einer Analyse und dem Vergleich der Transformationsprozesse werden die von der EU aufgestellten Beitrittskriterien analysiert und hinterfragt. Die Publikation verdeutlicht, dass ein nachhaltiger Frieden auf dem Balkan nur durch eine realistische EU-Perspektive und eine intensive Kooperation der Mitgliedstaaten mit den südosteuropäischen Staaten zu gewährleisten ist.

The year-long disagreement between Athens and Skopje over Macedonia's official name is not only detrimental to the two neigbours' bilateral relations, it is also jeopardising European Union and NATO stability strategies for the western Balkans, according to a report published on Monday (12 January).

"The main NATO-EU strategy for stabilising Macedonia and the region via enlargement was derailed in 2008 by the dispute with Greece over the country's name," says the International Crisis Group (ICG) in a new paper. It explains that the EU membership perspective has been helping to unite Macedonia's two communities, the ethnic Macedonians and Albanians, especially since the end of the 2001 conflict between them. But the recent escalation of the name dispute between Greece and Macedonia – which materialised in April last year when Athens blocked Skopje's NATO bid – "puts at risk the progress achieved," according to the ICG.

Press Articles Macedonia's Name: Breaking the Deadlock

Macedonia is a relative success story in a region scarred by unresolved statehood and territory issues. International engagement has, since the 2001 conflict with an ethnic Albanian insurgency, brought progress in integrating Albanians into political life. This has been underpinned by the promise of European Union (EU) and NATO integration, goals that unite ethnic Macedonians and Albanians. But the main NATO/EU strategy for stabilising Macedonia and the region via enlargement was derailed in 2008 by the dispute with Greece over the country’s name. Athens claims that, by calling itself “Macedonia”, it appropriates part of the Hellenic heritage and implies a claim against Greece’s northern province. At summits it blocked Macedonian membership in NATO and EU accession talks until the issue is settled. Mystifying to outsiders, the dispute touches existential nerves, especially in Macedonia, and has serious regional implications. The parties need to rebuild trust; member states need to press both to compromise, especially Greece to respect its commitment not to block Skopje in international organisations.

Abstract[From the introduction] The foregoing summary of current events indicates the complexity of the situation the EU is dealing with on the Balkans. Currently, it seems that, apart from Croatia and partly Montenegro and Macedonia, the countries are still far away from any meaningful prospects regarding European integration. A detailed overview of all of the intricacies and activities of the European Union’s foreign policy in the Western Balkans is beyond the scope of this paper. Instead, the following discussion addresses the main institutional and legal issues with regard to the process of integration for the countries of the Western Balkans. This process, the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP), is a precondition to enlargement procedures. In the light of the current events, the final part addresses the particularities of the role foreseen for the EU in Kosovo.

Published in: Journal of European Integration, Volume 31, Issue 1 January 2009 , pages 65 - 82

Abstract What routes of influence could the European Union use to bring the Western Balkan states closer to EU standards in Justice and Home Affairs (JHA)? The paper argues that although the mechanisms of Europeanization identified for the Central and Eastern European countries are useful for understanding the EU's external influence, they are not sufficient for fully deconstructing the avenues of external leverage. The key to understanding the Europeanization of the Western Balkans is to take policy-related conditionality into account, in addition to membership conditionality. In offering more relaxed travel conditions in exchange for the signing of an EC readmission agreement and reforming domestic JHA, the EU could counterbalance the shortcomings of the pre-accession strategy and establish an additional avenue of external leverage. The paper suggests understanding the EU's use of policy-related conditionality in the Western Balkans as exemplary for the European Neighbourhood Policy.

This weblog is a forum for discussion on the political and social processes linked to EU integration in the Western Balkans. We would also like to use this space to create a virtual network of researchers on this topic. You are most welcome to contribute to this weblog with comments, postings, links, or photos. Please use the "add comment" function at the end of each posting!

Series edited by Wolfgang Petritsch and Christophe Solioz At the Nomos publishing house “Southeast European Integration Perspectives” (SEIP) publishes relevant works on the political issues confronting Southeast Europe written by scholars, policy analysts, politicians, practitioners and activists, including both internationally recognized authors and emerging regional voices. SEIP both analyses and promotes ongoing processes of transition and transformation, exploring the linkages between an emergent regionalism in Southeast Europe and wider European integration. SEIP combines cutting-edge policy research, interdisciplinary approaches and innovative and provocative thinking which will be of interest to a wide range of readers, including policy analysts, scholars, policy makers, diplomats, and journalists.

Serbia Matters presents policy essays on Serbia's post-Milosevic era written by internationally recognised authors, policymakers, academics and political analysts actively engaged in the Balkans discourse. Since 2000 Serbia has moved from a decade of wars and delayed transition towards European integration. The book assesses the country's present state of affairs, recent achievements and future challenges. It also offers pertinent analyses and compelling arguments as to why Serbia's accession to the European Union matters as much for Belgrade as it does for the whole Western Balkans. This book is written with the aim to persuade both Serbia's leaders and citizens and those Member States of the European Union who are hit by 'enlargement fatigue' that the country ought to have its rightful place in the EU and that there is no alternative to the reform process. Das Werk ist Teil der Reihe Southeast European Integration Perspectives, Band 1.