Montenegro
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European Union
An enlargement of illusions
13 October 20113Dagens Nyheter Stockholm -
EU accession
The Balkan family photo is blurred
21 January 20112Politika Belgrade -
Balkans
The big cleanup begins
23 December 20104Monitor Podgorica -
Institutions
EU grows weary of enlargement
10 November 20101Presseurop -
Balkans
Montenegro – come if you're rich
26 August 2010The New York Times New York -
8 February 20103Globus-Skopje Skopje
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26 January 2010
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Balkans
Hail Albania!
25 November 20091The Guardian London -
22 October 20091Wprost Warsaw
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EU enlargement
Auditors find "black hole" of the Balkans
14 October 2009PresseuropTrouw -
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Have passport, can't travel
3 September 2009BH Dani Sarajevo -
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. 
Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro: in the space of a fortnight, the leaders or ex-leaders of all three countries have been arrested or accused of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, reports a Montenegro weekly, the EU is paving the way for the accession of all three Balkan countries.
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. 
Eager to join the European Union, Montenegro is cleaning up its image of corruption and pulling out all the stops to attract foreign capital. 
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. 
Separated by wars which marked the 1990s, some citizens of the former Yugoslavia are attempting to rebuild the cultural ties, which were a feature of the Titoist state. Today, with encouragement from Europe, political leaders are also beginning to recognize this trend. 
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 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.