Albania
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17 October 2011Kathimerini Athens
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European Union
An enlargement of illusions
13 October 20113Dagens Nyheter Stockholm -
24 January 2011PresseuropTema
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EU accession
The Balkan family photo is blurred
21 January 20112Politika Belgrade -
Editorial
Winter ceasefire
23 December 2010Presseurop -
Institutions
EU grows weary of enlargement
10 November 20101Presseurop -
Asylum seekers
The Albanians are coming!
27 October 2010PresseuropDe Morgen -
Austerity
A farewell to arms?
25 October 2010La Repubblica Rome -
Balkans
Montenegro – come if you're rich
26 August 2010The New York Times New York -
5 August 2010PresseuropBerlingske Tidende
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BALKANS
Kosovo, the problem neighbour
17 February 20101The Guardian London -
8 February 20103Globus-Skopje Skopje
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Balkans
Hail Albania!
25 November 20091The Guardian London -
Immigration
Greece opts for forced repatriation
26 October 2009Kathimerini Athens -
Accession
Zagreb and Ankara "must do better"
15 October 2009PresseuropZaman -
EU enlargement
Auditors find "black hole" of the Balkans
14 October 2009PresseuropTrouw -
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Have passport, can't travel
3 September 2009BH Dani Sarajevo -
Turkey
Go East
19 August 2009The Guardian London -
EU enlargement
Never mind the Balkans, here's Iceland
31 July 20092El País Madrid
In opening up the prospect of accession to several candidate countries, the European Commissioner for Enlargement means to put on a show of optimism. But it only reinforces the impression that Europe doesn’t know where it’s going, writes the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter. 
The population census demanded by Brussels has become a political challenge in most of the countries of the western Balkans. Twenty years after the start of the wars in former Yugoslavia, the venture brings ethnic and social tensions back into the spotlight. 
For the European press, the publication of the annual “progress report” on prospective candidates for EU accession, has failed to dispel the general apathy that surrounds the question of enlargement. 
The crisis is forcing European states to make unprecedented cuts in their defence budgets, leaving their armed forces short on men and means – and eventually eroding their technological edge. 
Eager to join the European Union, Montenegro is cleaning up its image of corruption and pulling out all the stops to attract foreign capital. 
Two years after Kosovo's declaration of independence, the Union is still unable to come up with a coherent policy for the western Balkans. This threatens not only to scupper Serbia’s accession to the EU, but also to destabilise the region itself. 
Five centuries of Turkish domination left their mark on culture, cuisine, language and even gestures in Balkan countries. It is an influence that is still apparent in attitudes that have affected the pace of integration in the European Union for a number of Balkan states. 
On 16 November the EU Council formally approved Albania’s application for accession to the Union. Guardian columnist Peter Preston argues in favour of an emerging country whose enthusiasm for the European project is a welcome antidote to eurosceptic cynicism. 
Greece, the point of entry for many an illegal immigrant to the EU, is also required to take back immigrants that other countries do not want to keep. However, pleading a lack of appropriate infrastructure, it has failed to honour this responsibility, and instead adopts a policy of forced repatriation, which rides roughshod over refugees' rights. 
From 1st January, 2010, Muslim Bosnians and Kosovans will be the only citizens of the former Yugoslavia required to obtain visas to enter the European Union. Sarejevo daily, BH Dani, explains how impartial principles will result in discriminatory practice. 
The EU rose out of the ashes of war. Perhaps, with a little patience and pragmatism, a Middle Eastern Union is not such a distant fantasy. And Turkey, as East-West linchpin, is well-placed to be that unifying force. 
The enthusiasm with which member states have welcomed Reykjavik's request for accession to the EU is in marked contrast to the prudence — and in some cases hostility — which has greeted similar requests from the countries of ex-Yugoslavia and Turkey. But the EU cannot afford to give the impression that certain candidates enjoy special privileges.