Bulgaria is the least developed country in the EU, and its government is not terribly popular. There is no sense that the last 20 years or so have brought much success. Bulgaria is exploiting the accession process to foster nationalist dissatisfaction.
It is very strange — and indeed troubling — to hear people talking of how Bulgaria was united during the Second World War, when it was run by a fascist government. But there are also many supporters of accession in the EU, not least Germany. During its EU Council Presidency in , it worked hard to kickstart the accession talks.
Or is that a false impression? Well, on the one hand it is correct. What is your main recommendation, to avoid having the EU lose its credibility, security interests and geopolitical role in the Western Balkans? The first thing is to speed up the accession negotiations with Montenegro and North Macedonia. The Montenegrin situation is very, very shaky, and that would significantly help its stabilisation and future direction.
It would also be in line with NATO interests. The same holds for North Macedonia. Apart from stabilising the country, the opening of accession negotiations would help to scotch any lingering ideas of the western parts of the country, where ethnic Albanians are a majority, separating and joining Greater Albania.
Both Montenegro and North Macedonia are very small, peaceful, uncontroversial countries, and so it should be feasible. There are, in fact, many good reasons for such a move: it would be very helpful to Greece and Montenegro, would secure the Adriatic and would assist Italy.
Moreover, it would have a very supportive effect on Pristina and Tirana. Then, the EU should address the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I believe the United States would be ready to help, and a US-EU initiative would enjoy a significant chance of success. The country is otherwise in economic and political deadlock. Finally, the EU should address Serbia and Kosovo. Their problems cannot be solved in the current context. But once the other countries are on the proper path, it will be much easier to come to an agreement with Serbia.
It will also be easier for Serbia to understand that it needs to accommodate Kosovo — and vice versa. An agreement along the lines of Eastern and Western Germany could be an option — at least until they get used to living with each other. So, one could expect the other countries of the Western Balkans to benefit from the powerful spill-over effects once North Macedonia and Montenegro commence — or even complete — accession talks?
Indeed, such a thing would have positive effects for Serbia, as well as for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Montenegro is tightly connected with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. Similarly, North Macedonia would have a strong positive influence on Albania and Kosovo, since they are neighbours. You would see the difference relatively quickly, in terms of resources and political stability.
And there is very little risk to the approach. The burden on the EU budget would also be negligible. These are easy things to do and would send a powerful signal to the region — one not only of promise, but also of democratisation. Latest News. Past Events. Prev Previous List of Victims. Next White Armband Day Next. Quick Links. Remembering Srebrenica. Slovenia is also trying to improve cross-border cooperation with Croatia concerning the southern border.
During the Bosnian War of , the United States, under President Clinton, gave decisive leadership to ending that conflict in with the Dayton Peace Accords. The United States continues to have a special attachment to the seven states that were formerly part of Yugoslavia and enjoys close relations with these seven states.
Today, like the United States, the area of Yugoslavia is multiculturally diverse and widely engaged with the international and regional communities in order to improve the lives of its citizens. In the opinion of the co-authors, the international community should refrain from imposing any new solutions on these states.
Their sovereignty should be respected and they are at peace with one another. Their futures are in their hands. The Institute of World Politics is a graduate school of national security and international affairs in Washington, D.
Learn more about IWP. About IWP Admissions. Bosnia and Herzegovina In the early s, there was considerable ethnic-religious conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia Croatia, a country slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia with a population of nearly 4. Kosovo Kosovo was a highly disputed territory constituting around 15 percent of Serbia. Macedonia Located in the southern part of the former Yugoslavia, Macedonia, an area slightly larger than Vermont, declared its independence in Montenegro The co-authors recently visited Montenegro, a country slightly smaller than Connecticut, with a population of almost ,, located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea.
Serbia Among the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia, which is slightly smaller than South Carolina, is well-known for its involvement in international affairs for over years. Slovenia With a population of slightly more than two million and an area slightly smaller than New Jersey, the country now called Slovenia was strongly influenced by its historic and cultural ties to Western Europe. Enter your email address. Search iwp. Privacy Policy Disclaimer. Close Search close.
It was a horizontal tricolor with three equal bands of blue, white and red. The monarchy chose the pan-Slavic design to symbolize the unity of all Southern Slavs. The flag was in official use until the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was occupied by Axis powers in After World War II, the monarchy stopped existing and Yugoslavia became a federal socialist republic.
Therefore, the communists decided to add a red star with a narrow yellow border to the center of the white band. The blue symbolized the blue sky, the white represented freedom and red was a symbol of blood spilled in the war for national liberation World War II. The flag was usually accompanied on official buildings by the flag of the federal republic and the flag of the League of the Communists of Yugoslavia. This flag was used until the breakup of Yugoslavia in the s. The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was based on the Coat of arms of Serbia.
It depicted a two-headed white eagle between two golden fleur-de-lis, on a red background. Also, the Serbian coat of arms depicted the Serbian cross, a national symbol of Serbia, based on the tetragrammic cross flag of the Byzantine Palaiologos dynasty. The new one included three golden six-armed stars.
The emblem of socialist Yugoslavia was adopted the same time as the flag — in The cross which has always been a part of it was removed for ideological reasons of socialist atheism.
It featured five torches surrounded by wheat, all burning together in one flame. This represented the brotherhood and unity of the five Yugoslav nations: Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins, Macedonians and Slovenes. The Bosniaks were not represented on this emblem, but they were on the redesigned one from The Constitution from named him president for life. Which made him able to stay on as president till his death in
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