EU – NATO Relations in The Western Balkan
EU – NATO Relations in The Western Balkan

Author(s): Michael Littlehale
Subject(s): International relations/trade, Security and defense
Published by: Centar za Sigurnosne Studije
Keywords: Balkans and NATO; Western Balkans and EU;
Summary/Abstract: It is clear, given the recent conflict in Ukraine, that cooperation between the EU and NATO has a renewed importance and urgency to further develop. This paper will outline past examples of successful cooperation in relevant operations (that is, in meeting security issues on the continent) in the western Balkans, and show the implications this has in moving forward. In doing so, the initial international response to the breakup of Yugoslavia will briefly be reviewed, and the subsequent involvement of NATO and Europe to these conflicts in the 1990s. This leads to US/NATO efforts that finally brought the warring parties to the table, and Europe’s increasing involvement as NATO phased out its operations. The evolution of institutional and operational dynamics of cooperation between the EU and NATO will then be examined before focusing on this relationship in regards to the western Balkans, and the impact it has had on the region —both positive and negative —to date. The paper will conclude with the lessons drawn and the implications for EU and NATO relations’ moving forward, as conflict once again has emerged on the European continent.

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