The European Union Foreign and Security Actions and the Western Balkans

Abstract

The EU’s realisation of the need to develop more cogent external relations, foreign and
security policies towards the Western Balkans can be attributable to the failure of Europeans
to end conflicts on their doorstep in Bosnia, Croatia, Albania and Kosovo throughout the
1990s. It is argued that the EU’s network of external relations traditionally consists of three
main elements: trade, foreign and security policy and development co-operation. Therefore,
this paper will dwell upon the EU’s international role through its external relations elements
which are also considered to be the main tools of bringing stability and prosperity into the
Western Balkans. Moreover, it will be argued that the EU has an extensive network of foreign
relations, but no ‘real’ foreign policy. This article will specifically examine the experiences of
the EU’s CFSP by highlighting the success and failures of the ESDP in the region.

Key words: security, defense, Balkans, EU

Keywords

• -