Regionalna saradnja na Zapadnom Balkanu – kako dalje?
Regional cooperation in the Western Balkans - how to proceed?

Author(s): Jelica Minić, Dragan Đukanović, Jasminka Kronja
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, EU-Approach / EU-Accession / EU-Development, EU-Legislation
Published by: Evropski Pokret u Srbiji
Keywords: regional cooperation; Western Balkans; European Union; Cooperation Process in Southeast Europe
Summary/Abstract: After Croatia's accession to the European Union in 2013, certain adjustments to the existing structures and mechanisms of regional cooperation are being imposed in the Western Balkans. In the previous stages of the development of multilateral cooperation in the region, attention was focused primarily on the establishment of peace and post-conflict stabilization, and then on accelerating the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union. Most of the launched initiatives were encouraged and supported by the European Union and the United States of America. The future development of regional cooperation will depend on the dynamics of relations in the western Balkans, and especially on the strengthening of existing institutional frameworks and their real capacity to support regional cooperation (in the first place, the Cooperation Process in Southeast Europe - SEECP and the Council for Regional Cooperation - RCC). A major test for checking the effectiveness of the regional dimension of economic and social development is the strategic document Southeast Europe 2020, which was adopted at the Ministerial meeting of the Investment Committee for SEE, in Sarajevo, in November 2013. This strategy, which opens a new chapter in the development of regional cooperation, follows the basic direction of Europe 2020, a strategy to stimulate growth and competitiveness in the European Union, combining in a more complex and demanding way the interests and resources of the countries of the Western Balkans that have not yet joined the EU. The new framework implies a greater degree of regional cooperation in the fight against organized crime and corruption, strengthening capacities for the rule of law and good governance, and creating a framework for regional networking of social and health services.

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