Europe’s Second Chance in the Balkans
The European Union stood by idly when Yugoslavia collapsed in chaos in 1991. Now European disunity, coupled with a weakened American presidency and Russian pressure, threatens the future of Kosovo.
Confronting the disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1991, former EU Council President Jacques Poos made his famous but now derided statement: “This is the hour of Europe… not the hour of the Americans.” What the EU learned from the subsequent four years of Balkan disasters under its management is now being tested by another major turning point and potential crisis – when and how Kosovo is to become independent. Once again, Europe’s role may well prove decisive.
Confronting the disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1991, former EU Council President Jacques Poos made his famous but now derided statement: “This is the hour of Europe… not the hour of the Americans.” What the EU learned from the subsequent four years of Balkan disasters under its management is now being tested by another major turning point and potential crisis – when and how Kosovo is to become independent. Once again, Europe’s role may well prove decisive.