Publication

This paper examines the status and state of the southern Balkans, both from an internal perspective and in the regional context. The paper examines Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and associated Euro-Atlantic structures in more detail. The author argues that in the absence of any real perspective for rapid EU membership for some countries in the western Balkans and Turkey, the EU needs to develop forms of associate membership. Additionally, local risks associated with the impact of the global financial crisis in the region need to be minimized.