The European Union is in the midst of yet another goodwill trip through the Western Balkans to drum up support for the bloc and to make sure that Europe's historical tinderbox is not about to pick the side of hostile Russia or strategic rival China in the world of geopolitics.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will have a stop during her whirlwind six-nation tour in Serbia on Friday, by far the most important nation in the southern region, and one that has shown scant regard for solidarity in joining EU sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
For years, the 27-nation EU has been caught in two minds over the Western Balkans: seeking to pull them close as allies and hold off foreign interference, yet at the same time, keeping them at arm's length since their weaker economies and political institutions are far from ready to seamlessly integrate into the EU's single market of open trade and Western democratic ideals.
The result has been frustration for the Western Balkan nations, sometimes bordering on alienation. And the February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine has only made matters more urgent. Hence, this week's outpouring of warm words and more EU aid in addition to the billions in grants and loans already committed to the region. “This is a question of strategic interests, and we only have one shot to get it right. So let's not waste it,” Katalin Cseh of the liberal Renew Europe group told the EU legislature last week.
“Russia and China understand the strategic importance of the Western Balkans just as well as we do. Only," she added, “it is right on our doorstep.”
The region now comprising of Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia has long been a political, and sometimes literal, battleground for world powers.
A shooting in Sarajevo, Bosnia, in 1914 set off World War I, which brought down empires, redrew maps and ultimately led to World War II, The United States and the Soviet Union emerged as superpowers.
With the 1991 Soviet collapse, so did Yugoslavia, the dominant power in the Western Balkans region.