The Western Balkans in EU’s Strategy

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problems connected with the EU enlargement to the Western Balkans. The author pays special attention to the factors explaining recent increased attention of the EU to finding solution to the enlargement .The article contains analyses of «the frozen conflicts» in the region which continue to influence the regional stability and make the task of accelerating the EU’s enlargement to the Western Balkans as a priority one in the context of the EU’s strategic autonomy. New EU’s initiatives aimed at arranging strategic debates on EU enlargement to the Western Balkans have been described. The article contains analyses of the so-called frozen conflicts in the Western Balkans which continue to exert influence on regional stability and on the process of association of the Western Balkans with the EU. The important role of the EU the Western Balkans' summits in elaboration of common approaches of the EU’s member-states to the problem of enlargement has been noted. The article defines a possible perspective of the EU’s enlargement towards the Western Balkans. The author considers that the EU’s enlargement towards the Western Balkans is becoming an important task for the EU in the context of realization of its strategic autonomy and projection of its influence on the given region.

Keywords

• eu’s enlargement to the western balkans
• frozen conflicts in the balkans
• eu’s strategic autonomy
• eu – western balkans summit in zagreb
• interethnic contradictions
• eu copenhagen criteria
• france and enlargement to the western balkans