Europe will only be truly united when all the countries of the Western Balkans join the EU, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday.
Merkel's remarks represented a strong restatement of Berlin's commitment to EU enlargement, an idea that is unpopular with some EU governments and many voters in Western Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron has struck a particularly skeptical note on enlargement in recent years.
The future of the Balkans looks far brighter today than many would have predicted two decades ago.
The Balkan wars left more than 100,000 dead and caused millions to flee their homes. The region’s economies lay in ruins, and many of our best and brightest left in droves to seek a better future elsewhere. Political leaders from opposing sides did not trust each other, and had no real vision for the future.
TIRANA, Albania — Albania’s prime minister said a union between Albania and Kosovo cannot be ruled out if EU membership prospects for the Western Balkans fade.
PRISTINA — Kosovo marked another milestone in its state-building process this week by moving to establish Kosovo’s own defense forces. A multi-ethnic organization established post-independence under strict scrutiny from NATO, the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) will soon assume a new role as a military defense force.
After weeks of rising tension between Kosovo and Serbia, the leaders of both sides agreed to calm things down Tuesday night at a Brussels meeting with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
But comments by Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi after the meeting left Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić fuming Wednesday morning — and even prompted a diplomatic but nonetheless clear reprimand from Mogherini.
The European Union is stepping in between squabbling Kosovar Albanians and Serbs, fearing that a new dispute could undo nearly two decades of efforts to stabilize the southern Balkans.
http://www.politico.eu/article/eu-kosovo-serbia-train-dispute-eu-mogherini-vucic-thaci/
Kosovo may have taken an important step toward international recognition this year, when it joined FIFA and won Olympic gold in Rio. But for Shpend Ahmeti, the mayor of Pristina, building a nation begins on the ground.
BERLIN — Metternich, the godfather of pan-European statecraft, once famously quipped that the Balkans started just beyond Vienna’s ramparts.
In the emerging EU of 27, the Balkans are everywhere.
The European Union could always be neatly divided into regional blocs that, for the most part, pursued a common agenda, whether the northern group around Germany or the southern “Club Med” countries led by France.
Albin Kurti has long been a thorn in the side of authorities in Kosovo. A vocal critic of Serbian rule, he is now a member of parliament not averse to using tear gas on rival MPs to drive his message home.
NATO’s invitation to Montenegro this week to join the military alliance was more than a kindness to a small ex-Yugoslav republic. It was another sign of a battle for influence in the Balkans between Russia and the U.S.
http://www.politico.eu/article/washingtons-balkan-power-play/