A general overview since I WW until nowadays

1. Central Europe and the
Western Balkans
Valeria Puga Alvarez
Central European Studies

2. Central Europe as an
interrelated concept with WB
The concept of Central Europe across the history has been a political one, and during
some periods it has included some Western Balkans countries, such as: the former
Yugoslavia.

3. Western Balkans boundaries
Western Balkans
The institutions of the EU have defined
the "Western Balkans" as the south-east
European area that includes countries
that are not members of the European
Union.
The Western Balkans is a neologism
coined to describe the countries of "ex-
Yugoslavia (minus Slovenia) and
Albania”. Thus, the region includes:
Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and
Albania
Unresolved border demarcation

4. Balkans as a crossroads of cultures
The identity of the Balkans has been dominated by its geographical position; historically
the area was known as a crossroads of cultures.
 It has been a juncture between the Latin and Greek bodies of the Roman Empire, the
destination of a massive influx of pagan Bulgars and Slavs.
 An area where Orthodox and Catholic Christianity met, as well as the meeting point
between Islam and Christianity.
 1796:
Balkans division until S. V

5. Ethnic groups in WB
Bosnia-Herzegovina is the most ethnically diverse of the area's republics, according to
census figures. Consider that one-third of the country's residents are Muslim, one-third
are Serbs and one-fifth are Croats. Most Serbs are Orthodox and most Croats are Roman
Catholic. With those figures in mind, it is easy to see why the region has historically been
ravaged by warfare.

6. Long-term structural issues
The nationalisms in Central Europe and the
Balkans tend to be more exclusive and
xenophobic, because of stronger perceptions of
ethnicity based on lineage (or blood), frustrated
national aspirations, and the conscious
manipulation of nationalism by the political
regimes in their attempt to gain a modicum of
legitimacy.
 The dominant form of nationalism that
emphasizes centralization and homogeneity as
the preferred model of a state.
 The view of the state as largely tool of the
specific majority ethnic group.
Differences in economic terms:
 Balkan States more agricultural- based
economic
 Central European States more industrial-based
economy

7. Balkans before the I WW
Most of the Western Balkan nation-states
emerged during the 19th and early 20th centuries
as they gained independence from the Ottoman
Empire or the Austro-Hungarian empire (Serbia,
Montenegro in 1878, Bulgaria in 1908, Albania
in 1912)
Serbia become independent of the Ottoman
Empire in 1867, but its independence was
recognized in 1878 in the Congress of Berlin,
that ended the Russo- Turkish War of 1877 – 78.
After 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina was
under Austro-Hungarian military and civilian
rule until it was fully annexed in 1908,
provoking the Bosnian crisis among the other
powers
The Pig War (1906-08) was a trade war
between Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of
Serbiain which the Habsburg's unsuccessfully
imposed a customs blockade on Serbian pork.

8. I and II Balkans Wars
First Balkan War (1912 – 1913)
In 1912–1913 the First Balkan War broke out when the nation-states of Bulgaria,
Serbia, Greece and Montenegro united in an alliance against the Ottoman Empire. As
a result of the war, almost all remaining European territories of the Ottoman Empire
were captured and partitioned among the allies.
Second Balkan War (1913)
It was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the
spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece.

9. Balkans and Central Europe in the I WW
First World War (1914 – 1918)
It was sparked in the Balkans in 1914 when members of Mlada Bosna, a revolutionary organization
with predominately Serbian and pro-Yugoslav members, assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital, Sarajevo. That caused a
war between the two countries which—through the existing chains of alliances—led to the First World
War
Consequences:
Collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Defeat of Germany

10. Balkans and Central Europe in the II WW
Second World War (1939 – 1945)
With the start of the Second World War all Balkan countries, with the exception of
Greece, were allies of Nazi Germany, having bilateral military agreements or being
part of the Axis Pact.
Finally, at the end of 1944, the Soviets entered Romania and Bulgaria forcing the
Germans out of the Balkans. They left behind a region largely ruined as a result of
wartime exploitation.

11. Balkans and Central Europe in the Cold War
Most Central European states were unable to preserve their political independence and became
Soviet Satellite Europe. (Warsaw Pact and Comecon). Nevertheless, Communism was not
homogenous in Central European C
During the Cold War, most of the countries on the Balkans were governed by communist
governments.
However, despite being under communist governments, Yugoslavia (1948) and Albania (1961)
fell out with the Soviet Union.
Yugoslavia, led by Marshal Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), sought closer relations with the West,
later even spearheaded, together with India and Egypt the Non-Aligned Movement.
Albania on the other hand gravitated toward Communist China, later adopting an isolationist
position.

12. The breakup of Yugoslavia 1991-1992
 Slovenia and Croatia held free elections and their people voted for independence on their respective
countries' referenda.
 Serbia in turn declared the dissolution of the union as unconstitutional and the Yugoslavian army
unsuccessfully tried to maintain status quo.
 In the ensuing 10 years armed confrontation, gradually all the other Republics declared independence,
with Bosnia being the most affected by the fighting.
 The long lasting wars resulted in a United Nations intervention and NATO ground and air forces took
action against Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
 American pressure to end the war eventually led to the Dayton agreement of November 1995 which
created two self-governing entities within Bosnia - the Bosnian Serb Republic and the
Muslim(Bosnjak)-Croat Federation.

13. Kosovo intervention (1999)
• In 1998, nine years after the abolition of
Kosovo's autonomy, the Kosovo Liberation
Army - supported by the majority ethnic
Albanians - came out in open rebellion against
Serbian rule.
• The international community, while supporting
greater autonomy, opposed the Kosovar
Albanians' demand for independence.
• But international pressure grew on Serbian
strongman, Slobodan Milosevic, to bring an
end to the escalating violence in the province.
• Threats of military action by the West over the
crisis culminated in the launching of Nato air
strikes against Yugoslavia in March 1999, the
first attack on a sovereign European country in
the alliance's history.
• Yugoslavia disappeared from the map of
Europe, after 83 years of existence, it was
replaced by a union called simply Serbia and
Montenegro until 2006.
• International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia.

14. Differences in Human Development
 All Central European countries are listed by the Human Development Index as very
highly developed (2016, UNDP).
 In the case of Balkans, only Montenegro has been considered as very highly developed.
 Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the FYR of Macedonia and Albania were ranked as
Highly developed countries.
 In the case of Kosovo, there is no information.

15. Cooperation between Central
Europe and Balkans countries
• The Central European Initiative (CEI) is composed of 18
Member States: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland,
Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
• They embrace a territory of 2.4 million square kilometres
and a population of nearly 260 million.
• The CEI has 9 EU and 9 non-EU Member Countries.
• The CEI was established in 1989 as an intergovernmental
forum for political, economic and cultural co-operation
among its Member States.
• Its main aim was to help transition countries in Central
Europe come closer to the EU.

16. Western Balkans and the
European Union (EU)
• Each of these countries aims to be part of the future enlargement of the European Union and reach
democracy and transmission scores but, until then, they will be strongly connected with the pre-EU waiting
program CEFTA.
• Croatia, which was considered to be part of the Western Balkans, joined the EU in July 2013
• Albania applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009. The actual opening of negotiations depends on
Albania’s further progress on five key priorities and notably on the implementation of recently adopted
judicial reform legislation.
• Bosnia y Herzegovina.- On 15 February 2016 Bosnia and Herzegovina officially submitted its application
for EU membership and, in view of the meaningful progress made, the Council asked the Commission on 20
September to submit its opinion on the country’s application.
• Macedonia.- The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia applied for EU membership in March 2004 and
was granted EU candidate status in December 2005. The unresolved, long-standing dispute with Greece over
the country’s use of the name ‘Macedonia’ is an important obstacle to further EU integration.
• Kosovo is a potential candidate for EU accession. Kosovo’s future EU integration — like Serbia’s —
remains closely linked to the outcome and implementation of the EU-facilitated high-level dialogue between
Kosovo and Serbia.
• Montenegro applied for EU membership in December 2008, more than two years after declaring its
independence (which was recognised by all Member States). 26 out of a total of 35 negotiating chapters had
been opened with Montenegro by the end of December 2016.
• Serbia submitted its application for EU membership in December 2009 and was granted candidate status in
March 2012 after Belgrade and Pristina reached an agreement on Kosovo’s regional representation.

17. Western Balkans and the
European Union (EU)
• Trade: The EU is the Western Balkans' largest trading partner,
accounting for over 76% of the region's total trade. In 2016, the EU was
the region's largest trading partner for both imports (73.5%) and exports
(80.6%).
• All the Western Balkan countries have Stabilisation and Association
Agreements (SAAs) with the EU and have a clear EU perspective.
• The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is a single Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) linking all the Western Balkans and Moldova.