Custom term paper on European Union

It is a well known fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina have become an arena of one of the most bloody conflict in the on the post – Yugoslavian area. Even now we could find the ruined housed and even whole blocks in the Bosnian towns and cities and in the countryside along the roads one could see yellow tapes with blue words on them: “mined”. In the capital of the country Sarajevo, on the background of the surrounding mountings the burnt multistoried building of assembly is standing out, it still not reconstructed and left as a remind about the conflict. The peacemaking forces are still present in the area, even in the significantly smaller amount than it was even 5 – 7 years ago. The majority of them are from European Union and it is not surprising. E. U. is interested in the stability in the region as it lies close to its borders and further is supposed to be integrated. The security and defense interests in the region are also very important for European Union. It goes without saying that long lasting presence of the foreign military forces provided quite peculiar impact on the many life aspects on the Bosnians life. The country is divided on the cantons and the monetary system was impacted by the German significantly. It goes without saying that after such a severe conflict the economics of the country was exhausted. Years have passed after the end of the war and the is no devastation already, which was the core theme in the TV news not so long ago. But there could be hardly spoken about normal political and economical situation in the region: “The problem in BiH, with regard to the process of European integration, is that reforms are not proceeding smoothly .It was argued, however, that after the signing of the SAA, a momentum was created. But the widely differing views on the form of the state remain a central challenge for BiH’s reform process. Furthermore, the failure of constitutional reform in 2006, which was intended to make BiH a more functional state for EU entry, had the effect of hardening positions across ethnic communities. As a result, nationalist rhetoric is pervasive, and zero sum politics are still the rule rather than the exception. In a political system based on a delicate balance between the different ethnic groups, this lack of political will becomes an insurmountable obstacle to further progress on the reform agenda .But in the end it was argued that it is not the quality of the Constitution that is essential for effective governance, but the willingness of politicians to use the document and act on it efficiently” (FRIDE, 2008, p. 2 – 3). The agriculture is still in significant decay and probably should pass through several significant reforms and the country is known all over the world as one of the human smuggling. According to the data of International Anti – Crisis Group (2003) Bosnia and Herzegovina have not still solved the main problems of building the state. That is why the perspectives of joining the European Union (especially to the prognosis of the local government in 2009) are not actually real and it is not surprising that they were not fulfilled. At first the right order should be set and provide all the actively performing attributes of the independent state. Now it is very hard to say how long the country would be living under the protectorate of the Peacemaking missions and how long foreign military forces would stay on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the guarantor of peace in the area. This also creates a significant problem for the providing the integration process of the country: “In addition to the broad framework of EU integration and the uncertainties built into the process, there are additional issues that are specific to the case of BiH – especially the role of the OHR and the uncertainty around its closure. It was argued by some participants that the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) was right not to set a date for closing the OHR, but to instead draw up a list of objectives and conditions (one of which has already been achieved with the signing of the SAA) for the transfer of ownership from OHR to BiH authorities. The ongoing presence of the OHR provokes further questions for discussion, however, including whether the OHR has turned into an impediment to the reform process (as the case of police reform suggests), along with issues such as what constitutes readiness for the transformation of the OHR into the already present EUSR (BiH needs to prove it is fit for integration and self-rule).There is a general sense that the OHR has stayed too long and there is an additional problem of democratic accountability” (FRIDE, 2008, p. 3).

custom term paper

However the interest of European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina is obvious and realized in assistance the reforms process, with the help of United Europe the country could scrap out from the after effect of the war and even the reforms are not going smoothly European observers consider that a huge progress was made especially for the country which was involved in such severe religious conflict: “The roundtable took stock of the progress made by BiH in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration in recent months. In this respect, two issues were mentioned as key benchmarks, namely the start of an Intensified Dialogue with NATO and the signing of the Stability and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU, which was made possible following a compromise on police reform reached by domestic actors in April 2008.1 These two events were said to have marked a key turning point in BiH’s evolution” (FRIDE, 2008, p. 2).
It would be very hard to define whether possible EU without the Balkans is or not, but the states interests are very high there. The developmental perspectives were provided on the meeting in Thessaloniki, but the requirements it the countries are also very high. The European Countries understand that the economical potential of the region could significantly increase the role of European Union on the international arena and also provide the development of the security and defense programs of the European Union. The first steps in assisting the European integration to the East were made by Italy, the country, which could be possibly more than the others is interested in the stabilization on the Balkans, as the borders of this member of the Union are directly attaching to the Western Balkans. Any crisis in the region provides a significant stress for the neighboring countries – Italy first of all. Italians have already solved the questions of illegal immigration to their country from the Western Balkans and regulate the criminal groups activities, which included the highest governmental of some Balkans countries. But despite all the facts, Italians still consider that the dwellers of the Balkans never should feel themselves outsiders in Europe. The interests of Europe are lying in the stable development of the region collaborative practice with the countries, democratic developing of the Western Balkan region. It would guarantee security of the whole European continent. This strategy is generally supported by the leaders of the other countries, but as it was noted earlier despite the growing interest from European side some countries of the region are passing through the reformation process very slowly, with certain problems that got to be solved. Europeans, who are interested in the Western Balkans are supporting and assisting in their initiatives to provide the reforms that help to realize the integration policy of EU.
References:
1. FRIDE. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s integration challenge: From internal consolidation towards EU integration. Democracy Activity Report: Madrid, 2008
2. Björn Kühne. Are the EU and the Balkans drifting apart? Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Department of Central and Eastern Europe: Berlin, 2010
3. The Center for Strategic and International Studies & Hellenic Center for European Studies. Transforming the Balkans: Security, Political Stability and Economic Development. The Center for Strategic and International Studies: Washington, 2010
4. European Commission. Regional cooperation in the western Balkans. A policy priority for the European Union. European Communities: Brussels, 2005
5. EES and the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. European and US Policies in the Balkans. EES and the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik: Berlin, 2004
6. Kavalsi Milan. From EU and the Balkans to EU in the Balkans – The Promotion of an Elite Security Community. Dept. of Politics, International Relations and European Studies Loughborough: United Kingdom, 2004
7. Dimitrios Triantaphyllou. The Balkans after 11 September. Institute for Security Studies: Belgium, 2001
8. Traynor, Ian. Croatia given timetable for EU entry. The Guardian. London: 2008
9. Jović, Dejan. Croatia and the European Union: a long delayed journey. Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans 8 (1): 85–103. April 2006
10. BBC News. Slovenia unblocks Croatian EU bid. BBC News. 11 September 2009.
11. European Commission. Eurobarometer 66 – Public Opinion in the European Union. European Commission: Brussels, 2005
12. Milenko Petrovic EU enlargement: the Balkan question: Milenko Petrovic reviews the further eastern enlargement of the European Union and its benefits for New Zealand. New Zealand International Review.
13. European Council. Copenhagen Criteria’ for accession into the European Union. Presidency Conclusions, Copenhagen, 21-22 Jun 1993
14. Sir Andrew Green. Yes, we love Polish plumbers, but how many MORE does Britain need’, Daily Mail: London, 10 Feb 2006
15. ‘ Sir Andrew Green .Migration from eastern Europe: Shutting the door. Economist: 28 Oct 2006