The New Environment of EU Enlargement: The Impact of Economic Crisis on the Western Balkans and their EU Accession Prospects
This paper will explore the impact of the economic crisis on the Western Balkan countries, and how the new, unfavourable international environment is affecting their EU accession prospects. The analysis will be presented in three sections: the first part will examine the effect of the “first wave” of the global economic crisis on the economies of the region, specifically the impact on the region’s macroeconomic indicators, foreign direct investment flows, financial sectors, etc. Part two will analyse the repercussions of the “second wave” of the crisis, namely the Greek sovereign debt crisis, which rapidly spilled over into the entire eurozone. Part three will build on the issues examined in parts one and two and will discuss the repercussions of both waves of the crisis on the region’s enlargement process and prospects. The paper will also propose that although the E.U.’s role in Southeast Europe remains crucial (not least as a provider of economic assistance) its hitherto undisputable symbolic role as an “anchor” of stability and as a goal to be aspired to may be losing its appeal for some of these countries.
2. What were the main channels of contagion of the crisis from Greece into the Western Balkan countries, and what were the main repercussions of this spillover?
3. How has the economic crisis (in Greece and Europe) intensified “enlargement fatigue” in the EU?
4. What is the “convergence narrative”, and how has it been affected by the crisis?
5. What is the impact of “evaluation fatigue” on the Western Balkans’ accession process?
6. What are the prospects of EU accession for the Western Balkan countries, in light of the new environment within which it is being pursued?
Cerovic, B. and M. Uvalic (eds) (2010): Western Balkans’ accession to the European Union: political and economic challenges, Belgrade: Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade.
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Panagiotou, R. (2010): “The Effect of the Global Economic Crisis on Southeast Europe” Journal of Balkan and Near East Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, June.
Rupnik, J. (ed.) (2011): The Western Balkans and the EU: the ‘Hour of Europe’, Chaillot Papers, Institute for Security Studies, June.
Ritsa Panagiotou
Ritsa Panagiotou holds a B.A. in Political Science and Russian from Wellesley College, and an M.Phil and a D.Phil in International Relations from Oxford University (St. Antony’s College). For several years she worked as a Research Associate at the European Business School (INSEAD) in Fontainebleau, France. She has been a Visiting Professor at the Athens University of Economics and Business and at the University of Athens Postgraduate Programme in Southeast European Studies. In 2011 she was a Visiting Research Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre of Planning and Economic Research in Athens.