The integration of Western Balkans in the EU had been deemed a priority already during the European Council held in Thessaloniki. Twenty years later, Bosnia and Herzegovina not only is not a member of the Union, but became a candidate in December 2022 only. BiH is an important piece of the “black Balkan hole” puzzle, an area ensconced in the heart of Europe with an overall population of less than 18 million, outside EU not by choice but because it fails to satisfy certain parameters imposed by Bruxelles, which however had not been required from other Countries that have already joined the Union. After the Ukraine war begun, there is a lot of skepticism among Bosnians regarding the possibility of joining EU in a reasonable amount of time. There is fear of a revival of the 1992-1995 war, considering how the Dayton Agreement – instead of bringing definitive peace – legitimized the ethnical-national division of the Country whose external borders paradoxically have been more enduring than any other in Europe. In BiH, the high political spheres of Republic of Srpska (RS) have never denied their aspirations for a full independence from Sarajevo. Today, a secession of RS from the Bosnian State, united with the war in Ukraine, could bring back the war in midst of the continent. Moscow considers Serbia, RS and pro-Russian Montenegrins useful sources of regional destabilization, allowing an unexpected opening for Russian action in the Balkans, sparking a justified fear in BiH and Kosovo. Therefore, the EU must incorporate Western Balkans through an expedited procedure just like what is being done with Ukraine and Moldavia, despite their lack of internal democracy, little fight against corruption and lack of respect for human rights. Admission will not automatically solve problems and contradiction of a State but will provide its citizens with an identity perceived as “prestigious”, thus diminishing the desire of heated nationalism.

Antonio Violante
University of Milan, Department of Historical Studies

 
ID Abstract: 529