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The Balkans’ New Normal

Ten years after the last war in the region, the Balkans still comprises an assemblage of frustrated protectorates and weak states. And, while people in the region still believe in the EU, they are no longer sure that the EU believes in itself.

SOFIA – The Balkans is the European Union’s untold success story. The EU’s commitment to bringing the region within its borders remains firm. In September, Catherine Ashton, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, succeeded in breaking the deadlock in Serbia-Kosovo relations by bringing both sides back to the negotiating table. The EU’s soft power remains as visible as ever.

Moreover, just this month, the visa wall surrounding the region for the last two decades finally fell for everyone (with the exception of the Kosovo Albanians). It is as if the crisis in the EU’s center had not reached its Balkan periphery. This, at least, is how the European Commission wants to see the Balkans, and how the region wants to present itself.

But the reality is less re-assuring. A closer look reveals that the Balkans currently is a mixture of Greek-style economic problems, Berlusconi-style politics, and Turkish-style enthusiasm when it comes to the EU’s will to integrate the countries of the region.

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