Balkans: Is It Time For An Alternative To The EU?

RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY

"Balkans: Is It Time For An Alternative To The EU?
By Patrick Moore

PRAGUE, June 25, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- One truism of postcommunist Europe is that all the countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkans will sooner or later join the EU and NATO. It seems, however, that the countries of the western Balkans might find themselves in a "black hole" outside the EU for the foreseeable future even if they are surrounded by member states. Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia face uncertainty in their hopes to join the EU.

The Brussels-based bloc has a particular attraction for the countries of the region for three reasons.

Looking Toward The EU

First, membership means a seat at the table where decisions affecting all of Europe are made. The small Balkan states might not wield much influence, but it is better to be inside looking out than outside looking in, or so the argument has run."