You gotta love the Balkans. They basically hate each other except for one week in the month of May when they are all love and share values and 12 points.
This is actually a great observation. The wide spread notion of universal hate among ex-YU nations is wrong. It's the extremely loud nationalistic minority that actually hates each other. The most of the people don't genuinely hate their neighbors - they just "swim along" with the loudmouths, except on the rare occasions, when they get to really be themselves. And that's when they give their "oh so hated" neighbors 12 points.
It is a love-hate relationship: ordinary people will always gravitate to their Balkans neighbors, especially when outside of the region, and the politicians will always score internal points with the right-wing extremists by hate speech against the neighbors. There are numerous ties that bind us (Eurovision being the tiniest of examples), no matter what anyone says.
I'm all for more Balkans cooperation and union, because that's definitely the way forward for the region. But, as much as I'd like to see it happen, I doubt it could ever work out as long as those countries' don't decide first to resolve all the tension points between them. Brushing them under the carpet and go forward anyway could make the whole initiative counter-productive. I mean, could you imagine being in a mini-schengen zone, while you have member countries with separatist regions, while you have two member countries claiming the same region (kosovo), while you have some governments calling war criminals their national heroes, while you have governments corrupted to the core,...? I do believe that removing the borders will eventually be the one thing that will heal the Balkans wounds. But I do also think that everyone knows that before treating a wound, you gotta desinfect it, right? After all, there's a reason why the EU admission process takes so long. We don't drag it out for so long just out of pettiness. Of course, people like to make jokes about Balkan countries hating each other and fighting at every occasion, but I do sincerely believe that Balkans are not doomed to remain like that, unlike what some people say. It's just that it takes time and good will from all sides. It's frustrating yes, but rushing tends to make things worse.
From a german perspective i don't think you can or should forget anything that happened. And i don't think there can be a balkan union or even longlasting peace, without acknowledgment from everyone, that the terrible things that happened, did actually happen and were terrible. It makes me very sad, that i don't see a clear path to that happening in the next years. On the other hand I know that only after two world wars there were enough people in France and Germany that decided: peace with eachother is more important than our inherited hate for eachother. And even that probably wouldn't have worked without outside pressure from the USA.
I’m a German from Montenegro and even though I’m 99% Montenegrin by blood, speak the language fluently and have many parts of this Balkan/Yugo mentality infested in my DNA I refuse to connect myself with my homeland because every word in your comment is true. I’ve been born after the war and I’m rather one of the Jugonostalgičari who believes that one day we could all live in peace again with open borders from Slovenia even through to Albania, though before any of that becomes reality, without anyone having hegemonic control over the region and all living in peace, the scars of our parents and grandparents need to be healed. We need to strip the current governments, most of which are an absolute joke, from its incompetence, medieval thinking, uneducated politicians and the corruption that sits on top of all of it before we could even think that we are actually being taken seriously by the EU, let alone unify one day under one flag, whether that is under the Open Balkans, EU or any type of Yugoslav (Con)Federation
"two member countries claiming the same region" ? one is serbia, the other is Kosovo itself, albania doesnt actually claim kosovo, thats unification-ism
Well, if we have Bulgaria, Greece Romania, Croatia, Romania and Turkey to potentially be involved, boom, Democratic and Communist Bulgaria focus paths!
Yeah, it’s unfortunate that it’s like this. But, we need to move on if we want peace. I mean, France and Germany had issues for most of their history and yet today they get along and make everything easier for everyone.
@@matej8349 He is right. All of Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia speak the same language. There are more differences between German in Austria and Germany than in those countries mentioned before.
@@czech_ring Careful now... Similar thing can be said of Ukraine and Russia too... and Russians started this based on "having same roots" and speaking "similar or same languages"... and look how that turned out. 30 years ago war started in this area for similar reasons of one country trying to assert dominance based on "shared history" and stuff. And this war right now that Russia started seems like an orderly and gentleman's affair compared to balkan wars, past and any future if they ( hopefully not ) arise.
Since they want to join EU...that war will be a tragic joke. How I see it, EU will evolve into USEU, United States of Europe...and thus European borders will mean nothing. The last wars had a positive side, it took away the warmongering desire that plagues humanity. I am in favor for peace, stability and prosperity.
Those wars were pointless anyway. You don't make them less pointless by refusing to admit how pointless they were and by reinforcing the narrative that lead to those wars in the first place.
If you look at just the end result, it looks pointless. But you should not judge a journey by it’s destination, but the sum of everything gained in between
"I did a gig for the Red Cross during the Balkans conflict, but we couldnt land in the city as they were trying to shoot the planes down. We had to land in Budapest and make the seven-hour car journey on bumpy roads instead, and when we finally arrived, a riot almost broke out in the venue" --Tony Hadley
Yes, and I did a "gig" as a U.S. Navy reservist (was working at JPL at the time) and was sent to Italy in support of Operation Deny Flight, when it started up in 1993 to prevent bombing and strafing missions by various sides over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Former Yugoslavs bombing and strafing fellow former Yugoslavs because of ethnic and religious differences. So sad. Fortunately, my gig ended, and I was able to return to my work at JPL. The southern Slavs have a lot of work to do -- cleaning their house -- before they can create any sort of working "Balkan Union" (which was Yugoslavia, after all) and then seek EU membership.
Nothing. Serbia is in the middle of NATO nations. So won't do anything otherwise will be destroyed. So Serbia need to chill out. And everything will be fine.
@@locybapsi174 and you don’t know Balkan history… Serbia will always want to be the boss, Bosnia will never agreed to it, Kosovo will want its independence through Bosnia and Macedonia. This is another great Serbia attempt. If you want this inactive to work cut out Serbian nationalist’s politicians.
Listen.... It would be great if it could work, but there are plenty reasons why it hasn't worked so far. Any Serbian goverment that recognizes Kosovo is done for. As far as I can tell, they are not actively working on preparing the population for that eventuality. BiH is a mess with all kind of tensions, not helped by different designs of neighbouring countries. Montenegro got out of union with Serbia just recently... Etc.
It would be great if they could resolve these issues and it would help their case on becoming an EU member because the EU wants countries that join to have good relations with nearby countries. These problems will have to be solved at some point if they want to become an EU member, so credit to them for trying to solve these problems ahead of time and I wish them luck and these problems can be solved, just look at the problems EU countries had with each other over the last 100 years, yet they managed to solved these issues with enough political will.
Bosnia and herzegovina isn't that scarred. Try listening to sane People rather than Politicians and delusional Emigrants who overexaggerate their Foggy memories.
This sounds like a good idea on paper, but the political meltdown especially over differences will divide this initiative altogether. But regardless they should keep pushing this initiative among themselves.
It's already official. Open Balkan will happen at 1st January 2023. Official members are Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania. Kosovo i Metohija, Montenegro and Bosnia might be members. Montenegro most likely out of them.
Although Open Balkan is good idea,there's several problems in the region: 1. Pretty much entire election camping in BnH,Montenegro and Albania are stopping "greater Serbia",stopping the imminent threat of "chetniks" in the area and muppets like vulin are just fueling oil to the fire(they are just role playing,politicians in one country are defending it,in other they are "expending" while people are leaving en masses) 2. Student exchange is good idea,but it would mostly be for students from Serbia to go to Albania and vice versa(terrible idea). Many from Montenegro for example opt to study abroad rather than in MNE it self,since education is a)better b)in some cases cheaper and c)they wanna leave MNE(mostly to Serbia,but Bosnia and Croatia are also chosen destinations) 3. Open borders may bring profit but it's also believed(by people)that it would also increase smuggling,which is big to begin with. 4. Economical progression is difficult cause corruption is high af. 5. There's fierce opposition to Open Balkan among populace in Albania and Montenegro for reasons you mentioned 6. Now this one I could be wrong,but when comes down to traveling,you don't need passport when you go from Serbia to Bosnia or Montenegro and other way around(been a while since I traveled,I could be wrong,last time I went from Montenegro to Serbia and back,I didn't needed passport,just ID) PS for what ever reason,I cannot reply to comments so don't go ham on me
love your comment man. I believe corruption is the biggest enemy to EVERY Balkan country. Corruption is present in every level of day-to-day life, to the point where not only politicians, but also ordinary janitors are willing to take bribes. Forming the union would be difficult to begin with, let alone managing it well to avoid further corruption schemes. It's downright depressing where these countries are right now, compared to where they could be. Maybe one day...! :D
@Zaydan Naufal kind of, we have something similar, where people stop your car in the middle of the road and start cleaning your windshield, then demanding payment for it. some even advertise it as a free service initially or just don't specify. every balkan country has them and if you yell at them, they go away because they get scared
Nothing will happen to Albanian students in Serbia lol. I have an Albanian friend and in my town there's a whole café with 90% Albanian employees and it's one of the most popular ones here. Not all Serbians and Albanians are psychopathic xenophobes filled with 90% rage 10% Kosovo.
It won’t work at all. They tried it. It was called Yugoslavia. And it fell apart because the Serbs tried to impose their rule on the others. The entire history of for 1920 to 1990 was of the constituent parts trying to separate
Yeah, no... Firstly, Yugoslavia didn't fall apart because of that... Secondly, Yugoslavia was a single unified country - Open Balkan aims at setting up a free trade zone, not any kind of political union. Thirdly, the entire time period of 1920 to 1990 was NOT the constituent parts trying to separate, that is absolutely false. Furthermore, there were no "constituent parts" of Yugoslavia as no sovereign countries formed it. Yugoslavia was a single country with administrative borders set up internally (rather arbitrarily, which was one of the reasons for the chaos during the breakup). Yugoslavia was formed in 1945, THEN the government decided how to divide the country for administrative purposes. Incredible! You made three points and managed to get four things wrong. You realy are special.
@@sarmatianns You need to learn the history of Yugoslavia. Because clearly you don’t. Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro & Bosnia were all incorporated into Yugoslavia at gun point……at the end of WW1 This being the territory promised by the allies. Almost immediately, despite being promised equality in the Yugoslavia “federal Kingdom” - it was clear that Serbia was in change. Serbian MPs out numbered the other regional MPs. Serbian laws were made “federal” law. And Serbians dominated the civil service and military. The Yugoslav Parliament became frozen as regional MPs were shouted down & out voted. The leader of Croatian being shot dead in the Yugoslav Parliament. King Alexander I abolished democracy in 1930 and imposed a royal dictatorship, officially banning all political parties: although Serbian politicians mostly ended up in government.,… while Slovene & Croats ended up in jail. Alexander I was assassinated by Croat Separatists in 1933. The dictatorship continued under his brother. When Italy & Germany invaded. The Slovenes, Croats & Bosnians welcomed them as liberators. And the country was split. Yugoslavia was reorganised under a Communist Dictatorship in 1945 which lasted until 1990s Why did Yugoslavia fail? Because the regions: resented Serb rule
@@TheJalipa That is unfortunately not correct. The first idea of a joint country for south Slavs came from Croatia (Illyrian movement). Corfu declaration in 1917, which called for a joint state was pushed by Croatian politicans (Ante Trumbic and Franjo Supilo). Serbian government led by Nikola Pasic was strongly opposed to the idea of Yugoslavia, but the Serbian monarchy pushed for it. That country ceased to exist during WW2, and the second, communist Yugoslavia didn't have constituent countries. It was formed as a single country, and internal borders were drawn up later, changing over time.
As someone from Croatia i just have to say... Nope..nope..nope.. it didnt went well the last time, it didnt went well time before last time... it wont go well next time.
@@zatrox9438 We are in EU and it is not hard to work across the border from countries bordering us that are not in EU and to cross the border as well ( you only need personal identification card for Bosnia and Serbia ). It is bad idea because all other projects before that failed miserably. And it is bad idea because that would increase Serbian/Russian influence in the region which is awful in so much ways... If i would want anything is that our politicians oppose that and try to put that to a stop. Which may happen because Croats may finally get more power and decision making in Bosnia soon, so they could hopefully lead at least Bosnia away from that.
*ABSOLUTELY NO WAY WILL END IN A WAR* Sounds like a cracking and very sensible idea with absolutely no downsides at all... After all, these people love each other
The Nordic system of cooperation could be a model. This scheme goes back to the early post war years, a common area for work, travel, education and full rights to live in any country and even - after some years - vote in local elections. All this preceded the EU by decades. But the area was never and still is not a military and economic union: Denmark: NATO and EU, but the home rule Danish dependencies Faroese and Greenland are not EU. Finland and Sweden: Both EU, but not NATO (this is changing now). Norway and Iceland: NATO and EEA, not EU. So, still some border controls for commercial goods and no customs union. Sweden and Denmark use a national currency, like the other nations, except for Finland, who went for Euro. But all countries are in the Schengen area. Yes, It’s very complicated - but just on paper. It works really well. Shared history (yes, many wars, a long time ago) helps, but more important is the fact that all these countries are quiet similar mixed economy welfare states.
Apart from the fact that Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark did not have a horrendous war with each other in the last 30 years..... Interesting that Serbia is the one promoting all of this, much like they promoted the idea that Yugoslavia should continue. Being ruled from Beograd, of course.
Well ... there are multiple ways to achieve this tho. Should Germany win WW2 all people living in Europe would be German or their allies and they would have the right to travell into any part of Europe, no passport required :P Or maybe whole EU should just become USSR. Boom! Integration.
@@kalicom2937 I did not in any way suggest a new Yugoslavia. And there are no "rulers" in the Nordic cooperation area. Not even a union. BTW: EEC, later EU, was founded by countries who had fought on opposite sides in the bloodiest war ever. And not that many years later. Treaty of Rome was signed i 1975. 12 years after the war.
@@janhanchenmichelsen2627 Sorry, I disagree. Von Der Leyen rules the majority of the Nordic region, last time I checked the only bits of NB8 outside her grasp are Iceland and Norway.....and the funny thing is she does not hark from there, does not live there and, as far as I can tell, does not care greatly about the people of that region. She does, however, very much appreciate the tax dollars (okay, tax Euros) flowing south. As do the Greeks, the Spanish and the Polish.
Unfortunately it can't be model, because Nordic countries share same cultural and religious identity. Balkan (center - Bosnia) is collateral damage of foreign influences and their pretensions even since collapse of Roman empire to East and West.
Take this from an Albanian, the Open Balkans will never happen because beyond the surface you have to live in Albania for some time and then fully judge the situation. If Kosovo is not recognized by Serbia, then the open Balkans is simply a disgusting political game.
Remember that this area -- specifically Serbia and Bosnia &Herzegovina were the locales for the late-June 1914 flash point that actually ignited World War I, which (1) led to the downfall of empires (Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian), (2) creation of the Soviet Union, (3) creation of many new states in eastern Europe (Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and, oh yes, Yugoslavia), and (4) opened the door to the rise of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Yugoslavia was an attempt -- in 1918 -- to create a union of most of those same Balkan entities at the end of World War I which are the focus of the video (including Slovenia and Croatia). All of these factors -- and more -- contributed to the greater catastrophe of World War II, the Cold War and its aftermath, and the slow disintegration of the Yugoslav state after the death of Tito in 1980 into the Whitman's Sampler of argumentative and angry south-Slav states we see today, including those mentioned in the video and Slovenia and Croatia (last two of which are already EU members). As the Soviet Union crumbled, violence and civil and ethnic warfare broke out in what was Yugoslavia, and there are red-hot embers your video mentions that can and do flare up. Russia has for more than 150 years seen itself as Serbia's "big-Slav" brother and is trying to play the assertive role in the Balkans it was playing in the 19th Century, creating fear and dissention in Austria-Hungary and Turkey (read that as "EU" today). History may not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes.
I never hear a worst idea 😂, do you really want to put Serbia in a union with Albania ( and Kosovo) or Serbia and Bosnia ?! At this point just invite Turkey and let see what happens
Very true. As an Albanian myself it makes sense to get over old grudges(not forget them) with other balkan countries so that we can progress and move on forward to a prosperous future for all of us eastern Europeans. (Edit) But I disagree with you when you are saying that we shouldn't participate in regional collaborations just because serbia is doing so( and I don't agree with serbs on the kosovo debate) I think that with clever diplomacy we can agree on some solution in the future but for now I'm pro Balkan peace and collaboration.
@@tediprifti4348 i don't think they're talking about something like another Yugoslavia.. it seems like something more like a very loose European Union to make trade, working in neighboring countries and transiting through the region easier. But obviously there are many reasons to be skeptical of this idea considering past history.
@@yespls6260 Now granted you DO have a point,however the main premise of this video was to kind of throw around the idea of a "Balkan Union",not neccesarely just trade deals and the free-movement of people.
As someone from one of these Balkan countries, this is so funny... whenever we hear about "little Schengen" in the news we make comments that the main reason they want it is to move drugs more easily. There are many reports about some of these governments being involved with people in the drug trade. And people... here we try to live one day at a time, live together as we mostly share similar cultures and languages, but whenever these politicians need some political points they start some neighbor drama (I think they have a mutual deal, you be my punching bag today, I'll be yours tomorrow), they try to stir up some conflict, make people hate each other again... also, they do that when they mess something up or some major scandal. And I can say, a lot of people are tired of that and ignore it, but those few that devour that nationalism talks are the ones that end up making a mess. The majority of us moved on... Anyways, it is surprising seeing news from the Balkans on this channel, there is much crazier and more ridiculous, and dangerous stories too...
Okay, that's funny. Black humor. I like it. I'm convinced the Balkans will find its way to a more united future, though that will probably be within the European Union. Serbia and Republika Srpska are going to be the last source of barriers and resistance to moving in that direction. But, once Putin falls, I think Serbs might start to come to their senses again, realizing the Putin was never going to be their slavic savior.
Russia see it as an attempt to further its own goals thanks to Serbia, the EU on the other hand wants a more stable and developed region, it's very likely the EU would win out with those countries because the EU has far more to offer those countries than Russia has and that is only going to get worse for Russia as they go into decline. Also, threatening and scaring countries doesn't help Russia case, in fact, Russia is playing into the hands of the EU because more countries want to join the EU and it looks like the EU is more open to enlargement.
@@paul1979uk2000 WIth Russia part i agre but EU wants stable and developed region?😂 Bro where do you live? Everybody and their mother know that Balkan people are cheap labor force for EU, no more, no less. Just look at other Blakan Nations that are part of EU, emigration from those is among highest emigration levels in the world.
Does the EU want another Russian-loving country (Serbia) after realized the amount of damage Hungary (another Russian admirer government) can do inside the EU?
@@puraLusa most Albanians see it as an opportunity for Serbia to exploit Albanian markets, add the fact that we joined without a demand for kosovan recognition, it made the Albanian government seem weak
You should say Edi Rama and Vuciq working together. Because most people in Albania dont support it. Its a Serb dominated union that is just allowing Serb tourists to come here easily, buy up our land cheap + exploit our markets. We don't want or need that. Plus Serbia is not recognising Kosovo, so we gain nothing. Its not a popular idea and I dont think it will last long.
@@squirrel9999 No bro how could land that was for 200 years albanian become independant just because a lot of serbs came there in a few years that is just bullshit. Thats so unfair if i were albanian i would start a war with them.
@@squirrel9999 Not Likely, Serbs have an extremely low birth rate. In 2021 Serbs had 74,000 more deaths then births. You should worry about trying to repopulate your dying country. If you are making an ironic comment in reference to Kosovo. Even according to the first census conducted by Serbs (so Serb numbers are inflated). in 1921 Kosovo was: Muslims: 329,502 (75.1%) - Almost All Albanians Eastern Orthodox Serbs: 93,203 (21.2%) - Almost all Serbs Roman Catholics: 15,785 (3.6%) - Almost all Albanians + Croats So you were a complete minority even 100 years ago. Lets talk about How Vojvodina became 70% Serbian today from being only 30% Serbian in 1921.
Their every video is error-filled for people who actually know the subject. They get their subscribers by providing a soothing view for an average European, not doing any journalism
@@viski2528 if you live in Balkans you have different prospective if you live in London or Brussels. If they would do any research they would first start by marking all the borders in Balkan and made economic union of tax free import-export.
Just before federal Yugoslavia broke up Serbia imposed import sanctions on Slovene goods. So this was happening within a "country", one region imposing sanctions on another region of the same country. I don`t think most people in the wider Balkans want to have much to do with Serbia again if it can be helped. Many Serbs are even secretly or in some cases publicly cheering on what Russia is doing in Ukraine.
My friend in Belgrade says the "Z" faction there are turning into Nazis themselves. Beating up people, paining Z everywhere. I'll never go to Serbia again and I used to like going. They go on and on about the US bombing of Belgrade but they pretend Srebrenica never happened and ignore all the Russian war crimes of the last 5 months. My next visit to Belgrade will be after the Serbs get their ass kicked again.
@@arsic094 What Russia did to Ukraine is just like what NATO did to Yugoslavia. By supporting Russia's military operation in Ukraine, you are also supporting NATO's bombing on Yugoslavia.
Once all these countries are in the EU relations will improve gradually since there's freedom of movement and work and they aren't a threat to each other because they're part of a much larger group that keeps everything in check. Still I doubt a Balkan Union will _ever_ happen, for the same reason Portugal and Spain are excellent neighbours now they are both in the EU but an Iberian Union will _never_ happen.
@@whitezombie10 It's not that simply, just look at Hungary and Poland, you can't bring countries in the EU until you're ready and it was a mistake the EU brought in Hungary and Poland with them backsliding but in the case of Poland, it looks like relations can improve with them whereas with Hungary, I think they are a lost cause that will in time be forced out of the EU one way or the other. Before the EU can even think about bringing in other countries, it needs to sort out Hungary and Poland, they are the main obstacle to EU enlargement now, the second thing that's needed is reforms of the EU with vetoes and majority voting, until these issues are solved, I don't think the EU should allow any country in. The EU reforms will need treaty change, I think that should happen over the next 3 years, as for the other problem, the problem with Poland might be solvable and in part because of what's going on in Ukraine, if the EU sorts Poland out, it will be a lot easier to sort Hungary out which I think the EU should kick Hungary out and that will probably happen in time.
Problem is both Serbia and Kosovo have to get in the EU. And Serbia would basically have to give Kosovo some legitimacy. Until Serbia learns to get over it and accept the loss of Kosovo was a well earned consequence for committing the Bosnian genocide, they won’t join the EU.
@@whitezombie10 they need to show willingness to implement the necessary reforms. I was alive during my country's accession, it _has_ to be done and not only because it's in the EU's interest but because if a country isn't ready then the initial impact of joining a huge common market on industry and agriculture will be _devastating._
@@burningphoenix6679 I bet -Kosovo- _everyone_ gets in before Serbia. They're just too salty and seem to resent the whole process as if they were being _forced_ to join the EU.
“The writer does not dare dream of giving the best of his individuality. No, he must never express his anger. The vacillating demands of mediocrity must be satisfied. Amuse the people, be their clown, give them platitudes about which they can laugh, shadows of truth which they can hold as truths.” ― Aleksandar Hemon,
This will never happen as the Croatian Constitution forbis any kind of "united Slavic state" from including them ever again. Plus with the tension between Albania+Kosovo and Serbia, the imminent dissolution of Bosnia, and Croatia's and Slovenia's EU membership a major Balkan country will never be achieved again.
They went to EU but they mindset not.. Just go to Croatia RUclips trends.. Its always 99% same like in Serbia RUclips trend.. They still listen to our music and we listen to their and same also for other stuff.. Where most young Slovenians celebrate new year every year .. In Belgrade
@@dzonikg28 this young Slovenians have families from Balkans. Slovenia was no1 country for balkan worker’s who made Slovenia their home. As mentioned before 500 years of history…
I think the bottomline is that if Albania and North Macedonia are offered membership in the EU they would take it in a heartbeat over this. None of these countries really like Serbia and the EU would eventually pick all other countries in this region up.
The issue is that you assume all those countries solemnly dislike Serbia and that they like one another. When it comes to economics, the political past is irrelevant. That in it self has pros and cons ofcourse. However, the process of joining the EU could go into decades and all it takes is one country to veto the whole process. An economic union of these said countries no doubt would make them friendlier to one another and these said countries relatively have stable relations whereas croatia and slovenia are not appart of it, which in itself may simplify the union itself.
@@draganmarkovic491 answer maybe in 100 years face it, Serbia,Macedonia,Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia are never joining the EU. I dont know why our cancerous politicians still think that
@@Wolverine-ky9gk I would only disagree when it comes to Montenegro, I can see them joining in future decades. They are small, already use Euro and don't have any serious problems internationally but the lingering possibility of Serbs coming to power in Montenegro and their huge organized crime problem is what is keeping them away...
There's a reason why EU accession for those countries is so slow and it's not the fault of EU's bureaucrats, for once. Those countries DO NOT comply with basic EU requirements and they seem to be getting worse, especially Serbia. The EU is not a country club where you can think you are not admitted because members think you are not snobbish enough. The leaders of those countries, instead of complaining, could work harder on EU requirements.
Oh please, get your head out of your butt! You think there is no corruption in the EU? You think there is no mafia in the EU? You think there is freedom of religion in the EU? What basic EU requirements are you referring to, so I can engage with you more specifically?
Just as we are discussing a new Union in the Balkans, Serbia seems to be attacking Kosovo. Or vice versa, as the Serbian president says. What turbulent times we live in.
As an Albanian I think this could go very wrong, very quick. If Serbia dosent don't reflect on their crimes like Germany did after ww2. The Balkans are one word away from war.
From 1 August Kosovo won't recognize Serbian car plates so if u want to travel to Kosovo with ur Serbian car plates u will have to change them. So Serbia are going berserk over this BH is a mess. Macedonia also so it dosen't look good
This could be the first meaningful step towards peaceful reconciliation that we've seen in the Balkans since the 1990s. The problem is that Serbia has been moving deeper and deeper in a nationalist direction and is increasingly pro-Russia. Should anyone work with them on anything at present? I don't know that it is smart to reward that government.
Ironically this might make membership for single members of this union in the EU even more unlikely. Since they have the 4 Freedoms between each other any member actually joining the EU would instantly have to establish a border again and drop those Freedoms because the Single Market and Customs Union is legally and in regards to regulations and standard different otherwise the integrity of the single market would be breached. If it works for them ... fine cooperation is always good. But make sure you know what you doing and are not taken over by Serbia and Russia with this.
The EU can accept members in blocks. If they’re all in a union together, they can progress through the EU application process in lockstep and join at the same time. Honestly, depending on how it goes, they could form a confederacy and join as a single country. That’s very unlikely it seems but it’s a possibility.
@@jonathanodude6660 Not with a political unstable group of countries who have issues amongst themselves, members with half-way dictatorial political structures who try to take over all others and little respect for the Rule of Law and/or Democracy and being in strong influence under a War-Faring Nation.
Please make the text more readable, over the hole screen, we do not need to see you, the presenter all the time, but we need to be able to read the text, if you want a thumbs up!
As a Serb I can tell you this Open Balkan thing is just a way for our criminal leaders to smuggle drugs and other illegal items over borders more easily. I support cooperation especially with countries that have a substantial Serb population but this won't help us much.
Thats what I was thinking first, basically Kosovo, Albania, partly Montenegro and Serbia are smuggling economy. All the heroin and other drugs pour through them. No borders? Great idea :P
People who share the same language do not trust you for all the crimes what serbs have done, imagine that if that trust would come from Albanians, it will never happen.
With Russian aggression in Ukraine, the EU is speeding up the process of allowing countries to join the EU but there is a problem and that is mostly Hungary and to a lest degree, Poland. The EU isn't likely going to let any new country into the union until those two countries are sorted out on the backsliding on democracy and even then, there is also the factor that the EU will need treaty change, reforms are needed in areas of vetoes and majority voting because it's clear the EU can't go on like this when one member can hold the rest to ransom. That doesn't mean vetoes need to go away but it needs to be done better, maybe by a percentage of members need to be onboard to veto something and not just one like it is now and until those two problems are solved, the EU shouldn't let any new member in as it will only cause more problems down the line without those reforms being done. I think the EU needs to get treaty change over the next 3 years and I think Hungary really needs to be kicked out of the EU, to make room for more deserving countries like Ukraine and others. As for the Balkan idea, it doesn't sound like a bad idea because sooner or later these countries are going to have to resolve their differences between each other if they ever want to be part of the EU, there's nothing stopping them doing that whiles waiting for the EU to do the reforms needed, it would likely being those countries much closer to EU membership.
@@fil2337 Not if Ukraine join, which might be an hidden point of the fast processing of Ukraine candidature. Still the adriatic/mediterranean sea exist. And kicking out the Hungary of today is worth some infrastructure troubles imo
There is no current way to kick out a member. Think hard to yourself whether any current or future members on bad standing with the eu would willingly choose to pass legislation that would most likely be used against them.
Maybe it would be beneficial to use the Swiss model? In CH each canton is a separate entity, but internationally it is beeing represent by a single president.
i think this is a great idea here's why first it would speed up the accession to the eu secound it would make the people of the balkans united again and third it would ensure that all the countries here can uniformally join the eu as 1 but i honestly think we should incorporate turkey and maybe maldova into this because a good argument could be made there in the balkans
N Macedonia, Albania, & Serbia: Let's form our own band in defiance of the E.U! N Macedonia: Yes. Albania & Serbia - *glaring noises* ... Serbia & Albania: Okay fine... Germany: Wait that's illegal...
Vucic is at the heart of the balkan initiative, he was also the former minister of information (and war propaganda) of genocidal serbian leader Milosevic during the war in the 90's. As a leader since 2017, its relationships with Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro or Bosnia are terrible, most of them accusing him to play with the "greater serbia" nationalist delirium. The main difference between EU treaties and the Balkan Initiative is the absence of political and institutionnal requirement (democracy, rule of law and such) TLDR is not an info-channel
Possibly correct to be suspicious about how much this is a Balkan Union and how much Greater Serbia. These populations don't have a history of mutual high regard. I read recently a comment about the apparent peaceable relations in pre breakup Yugoslavia: "Tito put a policeman on every corner to make sure we all loved one another," (Can't immediately locate my source)
I don't know about your source, since I haven't heard this quote yet .... but pretty much. There was a concerned effort to unite the republics. Ultimately, it was a side efect of multiethnic country relying on one person to keep it together. And that is usualy not a good idea. Because every person eventualy dies. EU is much better union, since it dosen't rely on one leader. Or even one country. But on shared set of ideas. This is better. But it's still tricky, as it works only to the point those ideas are shared.
There are way to many unsolved issues(BiH internally,Serbia with Kosovo,Montenegro,maybe even BiH to some extent, Albania with Serbia over Kosovo). Also questionable democratic standards in some, though I don't know enough about their internal issues to be sure. I'm more than happy we (Cro) left those integrations for EU and mostly solved lingering issues, even if the cost (of war) was high on every level. It is not even coming from a nationalistic perspective, and considering that we are mostly speaking the same (or at the very least mutually intelligible) language it would make closer cooperation seem natural, but there are just way too many issues that are not only unresolved, but also still used and even emphasized in daily politics, chances for long term stability just don't look good enough at present or near future. Supposed issues with slow EU integration feel a bit charadic. Just an impression, again not something I'm following, but the impression is that EU keeps the pretense to maintain a level of influence in the region, some candidate countries (certainly Serbia and Turkey, even if T is outside this conversation, not sure about Albania, BiH is ... complicated) in order to wrestle some economic and political benefits while neither the EU wants something potentially more problematic than Hungary, nor do some of those countries really want to go through agreements and reforms in the judicial and political institutions that might harm established and well dig in power structures. It is a show for the media and voters with questionable levels of serious intent on either side, or that is how it looks like at the moment, I'm sure everyone wants to keep options open.
I am curious to know, as a Croat, and maybe you know others' opinion too, what stance do you take if Croatia would veto Serbia joining the EU? Would that make you happy, uncontended or neutral?
@@Flavor88 Not really something I gave too much consideration as it does not seem to be happening anny time soon. Being somewhat of a pragmatist my stance would depend on whatever considerations would be present at the time, and would also require more research into possible consequences,pro and con. Wich I would probably have no reason to waste that much time on and therefore be somewhat neutral towards parliamentary and government decisions, specially if one could assume they are acting on much better info than I could possibly have. In general our politicians do seem too have, declaratively at least, a constant multi-government possition across the biggest parties that supports joining. Might be playing along dominant wider EU policies, might be for certain potential economic benefits if those markets are of interest, might be of security benefit considering our crazy long borders and the demands of the same being also EU borders, might be an interest in potentially greater stability of the region, who knows. At the same they don't have the size, budget, military or other influence to dominate EU politics in a significant way, unlike in Balkan unions. Whatever the reason I have not seen significant opposition to Serbia joining EU in dominant political groups, but mostly support.
@@Flavor88Almost everyone knows Croatia would veto Serbia's EU membership that's also another reason nobody in Serbia believes in the EU talk and going by the latest poll numbers it's only 30% of the population that would want to join.
@@bilic8094 Well, Serbia is free to chose what it wants. Its not like the EU is begging Serbia to join. I don't think Croatia would veto Serbia, might ask for "forgiveness or sorry" but I doubt that they will play like Bulgaria with Macedonia.
This is such a incredible idea. What could go wrong?
top 10 most famous last words
i mean the same could have been said about the countries in the EU pre coal and steel community
haha da...
No ballkan we Europe ballkan done since all contrys left & Yugoslavia
Kosovo je serbija
You gotta love the Balkans. They basically hate each other except for one week in the month of May when they are all love and share values and 12 points.
We are EUROPE no ballkan existed before yougoslavia naw all own contrys & Europe
@@berinaskb3043 Yeah but you more than earned to be your own region.
This is actually a great observation. The wide spread notion of universal hate among ex-YU nations is wrong. It's the extremely loud nationalistic minority that actually hates each other. The most of the people don't genuinely hate their neighbors - they just "swim along" with the loudmouths, except on the rare occasions, when they get to really be themselves. And that's when they give their "oh so hated" neighbors 12 points.
It is a love-hate relationship: ordinary people will always gravitate to their Balkans neighbors, especially when outside of the region, and the politicians will always score internal points with the right-wing extremists by hate speech against the neighbors. There are numerous ties that bind us (Eurovision being the tiniest of examples), no matter what anyone says.
Serbia, BiH, Albania, Kosovo..... Unite?
Turkey love this! 😂
You: “Mom can we get Yugoslavia?”
Mom: “We have Yugoslavia at home.”
Yugoslavia at home:
but mom that is not yugoslavia that is a balkan pact that will explote in 1 day to 3 days
I'm all for more Balkans cooperation and union, because that's definitely the way forward for the region. But, as much as I'd like to see it happen, I doubt it could ever work out as long as those countries' don't decide first to resolve all the tension points between them. Brushing them under the carpet and go forward anyway could make the whole initiative counter-productive.
I mean, could you imagine being in a mini-schengen zone, while you have member countries with separatist regions, while you have two member countries claiming the same region (kosovo), while you have some governments calling war criminals their national heroes, while you have governments corrupted to the core,...?
I do believe that removing the borders will eventually be the one thing that will heal the Balkans wounds. But I do also think that everyone knows that before treating a wound, you gotta desinfect it, right? After all, there's a reason why the EU admission process takes so long. We don't drag it out for so long just out of pettiness.
Of course, people like to make jokes about Balkan countries hating each other and fighting at every occasion, but I do sincerely believe that Balkans are not doomed to remain like that, unlike what some people say. It's just that it takes time and good will from all sides. It's frustrating yes, but rushing tends to make things worse.
I agree. If we could only forget the days of 90's, just to somehow make this plan work.
Couldn't possibly happen without all members fully recognising Kosovo.
From a german perspective i don't think you can or should forget anything that happened. And i don't think there can be a balkan union or even longlasting peace, without acknowledgment from everyone, that the terrible things that happened, did actually happen and were terrible. It makes me very sad, that i don't see a clear path to that happening in the next years. On the other hand I know that only after two world wars there were enough people in France and Germany that decided: peace with eachother is more important than our inherited hate for eachother. And even that probably wouldn't have worked without outside pressure from the USA.
I’m a German from Montenegro and even though I’m 99% Montenegrin by blood, speak the language fluently and have many parts of this Balkan/Yugo mentality infested in my DNA I refuse to connect myself with my homeland because every word in your comment is true.
I’ve been born after the war and I’m rather one of the Jugonostalgičari who believes that one day we could all live in peace again with open borders from Slovenia even through to Albania, though before any of that becomes reality, without anyone having hegemonic control over the region and all living in peace, the scars of our parents and grandparents need to be healed.
We need to strip the current governments, most of which are an absolute joke, from its incompetence, medieval thinking, uneducated politicians and the corruption that sits on top of all of it before we could even think that we are actually being taken seriously by the EU, let alone unify one day under one flag, whether that is under the Open Balkans, EU or any type of Yugoslav (Con)Federation
"two member countries claiming the same region" ?
one is serbia, the other is Kosovo itself, albania doesnt actually claim kosovo, thats unification-ism
This is a Yugoslavia Hoi4 Focus tree
if this works maybe we Germans can get the Kaiser back as wrll
@@theultimatefreak666 keep dreaming and we'll keep waging war XD
Well, if we have Bulgaria, Greece Romania, Croatia, Romania and Turkey to potentially be involved, boom, Democratic and Communist Bulgaria focus paths!
@@theultimatefreak666 monarchy back in fashion
@@theultimatefreak666 the kaiserin is clearly the superior choice
The timing is absolutely perfect
Best comment so far!
Im a serb from bosnia and if you just zoom in on our local politics in every country you can see that any kind of unity aint gona work out
i mean you guys literally speak the same language (serbo-croatian)
@@czech_ring you are going into a dangerous territory my friend
Yeah, it’s unfortunate that it’s like this. But, we need to move on if we want peace. I mean, France and Germany had issues for most of their history and yet today they get along and make everything easier for everyone.
@@matej8349 He is right. All of Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia speak the same language. There are more differences between German in Austria and Germany than in those countries mentioned before.
@@czech_ring Careful now...
Similar thing can be said of Ukraine and Russia too... and Russians started this based on "having same roots" and speaking "similar or same languages"... and look how that turned out.
30 years ago war started in this area for similar reasons of one country trying to assert dominance based on "shared history" and stuff.
And this war right now that Russia started seems like an orderly and gentleman's affair compared to balkan wars, past and any future if they ( hopefully not ) arise.
If this happened, the wars in the 90s would be the most pointless conflicts after WW1
Since they want to join EU...that war will be a tragic joke. How I see it, EU will evolve into USEU, United States of Europe...and thus European borders will mean nothing. The last wars had a positive side, it took away the warmongering desire that plagues humanity. I am in favor for peace, stability and prosperity.
Those wars were pointless anyway. You don't make them less pointless by refusing to admit how pointless they were and by reinforcing the narrative that lead to those wars in the first place.
Truly those wars were pointless.
wars are pointless irrelevant of what happend
If you look at just the end result, it looks pointless. But you should not judge a journey by it’s destination, but the sum of everything gained in between
"I did a gig for the Red Cross during the Balkans conflict, but we couldnt land in the city as they were trying to shoot the planes down. We had to land in Budapest and make the seven-hour car journey on bumpy roads instead, and when we finally arrived, a riot almost broke out in the venue"
--Tony Hadley
Dude where do u get these quotes from
@@williamthebonquerer9181 form the internet like some times form youtube videos and some time form google and quotes sites
Yes, and I did a "gig" as a U.S. Navy reservist (was working at JPL at the time) and was sent to Italy in support of Operation Deny Flight, when it started up in 1993 to prevent bombing and strafing missions by various sides over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Former Yugoslavs bombing and strafing fellow former Yugoslavs because of ethnic and religious differences. So sad. Fortunately, my gig ended, and I was able to return to my work at JPL. The southern Slavs have a lot of work to do -- cleaning their house -- before they can create any sort of working "Balkan Union" (which was Yugoslavia, after all) and then seek EU membership.
I didn't even know Tony Hadley from Spandau Ballet did a gig for the Red Cross.
Sounds like a great idea!
With the best of intentions!
What could possibly go wrong?
Nothing. Serbia is in the middle of NATO nations. So won't do anything otherwise will be destroyed. So Serbia need to chill out. And everything will be fine.
@@SkyTechLover Serbia is already chill for two decades at least. I think you are stuck in the last century and need to wake up.
Another Balkan war… 100%
@@locybapsi174 and you don’t know Balkan history… Serbia will always want to be the boss, Bosnia will never agreed to it, Kosovo will want its independence through Bosnia and Macedonia. This is another great Serbia attempt. If you want this inactive to work cut out Serbian nationalist’s politicians.
@@locybapsi174 I really hope so. Because by backing Russia at the moment only that doesn't show. Instead show a very childish and not mature nation.
Listen....
It would be great if it could work, but there are plenty reasons why it hasn't worked so far.
Any Serbian goverment that recognizes Kosovo is done for. As far as I can tell, they are not actively working on preparing the population for that eventuality.
BiH is a mess with all kind of tensions, not helped by different designs of neighbouring countries.
Montenegro got out of union with Serbia just recently...
Etc.
montenegro got aut ya are aut in ya home ya contry If Serbia know Kosovo Edepedent beter than to listend those were we are who we are 👎
It would be great if they could resolve these issues and it would help their case on becoming an EU member because the EU wants countries that join to have good relations with nearby countries.
These problems will have to be solved at some point if they want to become an EU member, so credit to them for trying to solve these problems ahead of time and I wish them luck and these problems can be solved, just look at the problems EU countries had with each other over the last 100 years, yet they managed to solved these issues with enough political will.
What?
I mean the Serbian government is pure dogshit so like... good?
Bosnia and herzegovina isn't that scarred.
Try listening to sane People rather than Politicians and delusional Emigrants who overexaggerate their Foggy memories.
This sounds like a good idea on paper, but the political meltdown especially over differences will divide this initiative altogether.
But regardless they should keep pushing this initiative among themselves.
Make the entire map Serbia and we will be strong
It's already official. Open Balkan will happen at 1st January 2023. Official members are Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania. Kosovo i Metohija, Montenegro and Bosnia might be members. Montenegro most likely out of them.
All it takes is another farmer shoving a beer bottle up his butt.
What a weird day for this to come out
Although Open Balkan is good idea,there's several problems in the region:
1. Pretty much entire election camping in BnH,Montenegro and Albania are stopping "greater Serbia",stopping the imminent threat of "chetniks" in the area and muppets like vulin are just fueling oil to the fire(they are just role playing,politicians in one country are defending it,in other they are "expending" while people are leaving en masses)
2. Student exchange is good idea,but it would mostly be for students from Serbia to go to Albania and vice versa(terrible idea). Many from Montenegro for example opt to study abroad rather than in MNE it self,since education is a)better b)in some cases cheaper and c)they wanna leave MNE(mostly to Serbia,but Bosnia and Croatia are also chosen destinations)
3. Open borders may bring profit but it's also believed(by people)that it would also increase smuggling,which is big to begin with.
4. Economical progression is difficult cause corruption is high af.
5. There's fierce opposition to Open Balkan among populace in Albania and Montenegro for reasons you mentioned
6. Now this one I could be wrong,but when comes down to traveling,you don't need passport when you go from Serbia to Bosnia or Montenegro and other way around(been a while since I traveled,I could be wrong,last time I went from Montenegro to Serbia and back,I didn't needed passport,just ID)
PS for what ever reason,I cannot reply to comments so don't go ham on me
love your comment man. I believe corruption is the biggest enemy to EVERY Balkan country. Corruption is present in every level of day-to-day life, to the point where not only politicians, but also ordinary janitors are willing to take bribes. Forming the union would be difficult to begin with, let alone managing it well to avoid further corruption schemes. It's downright depressing where these countries are right now, compared to where they could be. Maybe one day...! :D
@Zaydan Naufal dear god, that must be awful
@Zaydan Naufal kind of, we have something similar, where people stop your car in the middle of the road and start cleaning your windshield, then demanding payment for it. some even advertise it as a free service initially or just don't specify. every balkan country has them and if you yell at them, they go away because they get scared
Nothing will happen to Albanian students in Serbia lol. I have an Albanian friend and in my town there's a whole café with 90% Albanian employees and it's one of the most popular ones here. Not all Serbians and Albanians are psychopathic xenophobes filled with 90% rage 10% Kosovo.
@@0100-r6d hahhaahah, yea man. serbs and albanians argue the most outside of their own countries
Great timing on the video lol
It won’t work at all.
They tried it.
It was called Yugoslavia.
And it fell apart because the Serbs tried to impose their rule on the others.
The entire history of for 1920 to 1990 was of the constituent parts trying to separate
Yeah, no...
Firstly, Yugoslavia didn't fall apart because of that...
Secondly, Yugoslavia was a single unified country - Open Balkan aims at setting up a free trade zone, not any kind of political union.
Thirdly, the entire time period of 1920 to 1990 was NOT the constituent parts trying to separate, that is absolutely false. Furthermore, there were no "constituent parts" of Yugoslavia as no sovereign countries formed it. Yugoslavia was a single country with administrative borders set up internally (rather arbitrarily, which was one of the reasons for the chaos during the breakup). Yugoslavia was formed in 1945, THEN the government decided how to divide the country for administrative purposes.
Incredible! You made three points and managed to get four things wrong. You realy are special.
@@sarmatianns
You need to learn the history of Yugoslavia.
Because clearly you don’t.
Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro & Bosnia were all incorporated into Yugoslavia at gun point……at the end of WW1
This being the territory promised by the allies.
Almost immediately, despite being promised equality in the Yugoslavia “federal Kingdom” - it was clear that Serbia was in change.
Serbian MPs out numbered the other regional MPs. Serbian laws were made “federal” law. And Serbians dominated the civil service and military.
The Yugoslav Parliament became frozen as regional MPs were shouted down & out voted.
The leader of Croatian being shot dead in the Yugoslav Parliament.
King Alexander I abolished democracy in 1930 and imposed a royal dictatorship, officially banning all political parties: although Serbian politicians mostly ended up in government.,… while Slovene & Croats ended up in jail.
Alexander I was assassinated by Croat Separatists in 1933. The dictatorship continued under his brother.
When Italy & Germany invaded. The Slovenes, Croats & Bosnians welcomed them as liberators.
And the country was split.
Yugoslavia was reorganised under a Communist Dictatorship in 1945 which lasted until 1990s
Why did Yugoslavia fail?
Because the regions: resented Serb rule
@@TheJalipa That is unfortunately not correct. The first idea of a joint country for south Slavs came from Croatia (Illyrian movement). Corfu declaration in 1917, which called for a joint state was pushed by Croatian politicans (Ante Trumbic and Franjo Supilo). Serbian government led by Nikola Pasic was strongly opposed to the idea of Yugoslavia, but the Serbian monarchy pushed for it. That country ceased to exist during WW2, and the second, communist Yugoslavia didn't have constituent countries. It was formed as a single country, and internal borders were drawn up later, changing over time.
As someone from Croatia i just have to say...
Nope..nope..nope.. it didnt went well the last time, it didnt went well time before last time... it wont go well next time.
As a serb from bosnia
Yea nope nope no im out
This is gonna lead to 1 country having more influence than the others and well war again
*THE ONLY WAY THIS COULD BE A WORSE IDEA* is if you put Liz Truss in change of it...!!!
I think that's why croatia was not invited to this initiative...
@@zatrox9438 We are in EU and it is not hard to work across the border from countries bordering us that are not in EU and to cross the border as well ( you only need personal identification card for Bosnia and Serbia ).
It is bad idea because all other projects before that failed miserably.
And it is bad idea because that would increase Serbian/Russian influence in the region which is awful in so much ways...
If i would want anything is that our politicians oppose that and try to put that to a stop. Which may happen because Croats may finally get more power and decision making in Bosnia soon, so they could hopefully lead at least Bosnia away from that.
What's the general Croat view on the Ustaše post-pomirba? Edit: and how closely would you say the HDZ are tied to the neofascist movement?
Always nice to tune into TLDR for my daily appetite of waffle.
Anything that happens on the Balkans seems like a good idea on paper but it usually ends in war
Looking forward for next video about possible new balkan war
*ABSOLUTELY NO WAY WILL END IN A WAR* Sounds like a cracking and very sensible idea with absolutely no downsides at all...
After all, these people love each other
I agree, this will turn out great! We are a soulmates, after all…
Yeah put serbs, albanians, bosnians in one country, this is so stupid that I feel shame for that person who came out with this idea
@@marjanperveinis8355 On the other hand, it has to start somewhere...
i mean if anyone tries something funny itll result in nato intervention which pretty much means the agressor is done for
@@surreal6055 these people hate each other no need experimenting there
The Nordic system of cooperation could be a model. This scheme goes back to the early post war years, a common area for work, travel, education and full rights to live in any country and even - after some years - vote in local elections. All this preceded the EU by decades. But the area was never and still is not a military and economic union: Denmark: NATO and EU, but the home rule Danish dependencies Faroese and Greenland are not EU. Finland and Sweden: Both EU, but not NATO (this is changing now). Norway and Iceland: NATO and EEA, not EU. So, still some border controls for commercial goods and no customs union. Sweden and Denmark use a national currency, like the other nations, except for Finland, who went for Euro. But all countries are in the Schengen area. Yes, It’s very complicated - but just on paper. It works really well. Shared history (yes, many wars, a long time ago) helps, but more important is the fact that all these countries are quiet similar mixed economy welfare states.
Apart from the fact that Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark did not have a horrendous war with each other in the last 30 years..... Interesting that Serbia is the one promoting all of this, much like they promoted the idea that Yugoslavia should continue. Being ruled from Beograd, of course.
Well ... there are multiple ways to achieve this tho. Should Germany win WW2 all people living in Europe would be German or their allies and they would have the right to travell into any part of Europe, no passport required :P Or maybe whole EU should just become USSR. Boom! Integration.
@@kalicom2937 I did not in any way suggest a new Yugoslavia. And there are no "rulers" in the Nordic cooperation area. Not even a union. BTW: EEC, later EU, was founded by countries who had fought on opposite sides in the bloodiest war ever. And not that many years later. Treaty of Rome was signed i 1975. 12 years after the war.
@@janhanchenmichelsen2627 Sorry, I disagree. Von Der Leyen rules the majority of the Nordic region, last time I checked the only bits of NB8 outside her grasp are Iceland and Norway.....and the funny thing is she does not hark from there, does not live there and, as far as I can tell, does not care greatly about the people of that region. She does, however, very much appreciate the tax dollars (okay, tax Euros) flowing south. As do the Greeks, the Spanish and the Polish.
Unfortunately it can't be model, because Nordic countries share same cultural and religious identity. Balkan (center - Bosnia) is collateral damage of foreign influences and their pretensions even since collapse of Roman empire to East and West.
Small problem. No ethnicity wants to be in the same country as the Serbs. Even the Montenegrins (who are Serbs) wanted out of union with Serbia.
but its not the same country
Can't wait for the editorial on this
Take this from an Albanian, the Open Balkans will never happen because beyond the surface you have to live in Albania for some time and then fully judge the situation. If Kosovo is not recognized by Serbia, then the open Balkans is simply a disgusting political game.
You already know that answer Serbia will never ever recognize their own territory
@@Wolverine-ky9gk not from Vucic but the next one will becouse it is not about Serbs who live in Serbia but about 97% of Albanians who live in Kosovo.
@@Wolverine-ky9gk Monkeydonian, these topics are beyond you. You better go and eat your national food "banana".
1:00 Thanks for the arrow. I thought Angela was the other guy.
This aged well...
Who’s Albert Kurti? 5:20 So after including Albania in Yugoslavia maps now they change Prime Ministers’ names too?
Remember that this area -- specifically Serbia and Bosnia &Herzegovina were the locales for the late-June 1914 flash point that actually ignited World War I, which (1) led to the downfall of empires (Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian), (2) creation of the Soviet Union, (3) creation of many new states in eastern Europe (Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and, oh yes, Yugoslavia), and (4) opened the door to the rise of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Yugoslavia was an attempt -- in 1918 -- to create a union of most of those same Balkan entities at the end of World War I which are the focus of the video (including Slovenia and Croatia). All of these factors -- and more -- contributed to the greater catastrophe of World War II, the Cold War and its aftermath, and the slow disintegration of the Yugoslav state after the death of Tito in 1980 into the Whitman's Sampler of argumentative and angry south-Slav states we see today, including those mentioned in the video and Slovenia and Croatia (last two of which are already EU members). As the Soviet Union crumbled, violence and civil and ethnic warfare broke out in what was Yugoslavia, and there are red-hot embers your video mentions that can and do flare up. Russia has for more than 150 years seen itself as Serbia's "big-Slav" brother and is trying to play the assertive role in the Balkans it was playing in the 19th Century, creating fear and dissention in Austria-Hungary and Turkey (read that as "EU" today). History may not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes.
Thanks for spending the time to create and share this content
I never hear a worst idea 😂, do you really want to put Serbia in a union with Albania ( and Kosovo) or Serbia and Bosnia ?! At this point just invite Turkey and let see what happens
how about adding both Turkey and Greece ?
That is the only worse idea I could think of.
Kosovo is already in the union
@@v.sandrone4268 ottoman wars intensifies
Well, their shared hate for the ottoman empire might just make the balkan people get along 😂
@@niamhturner1451 no
I just learned about this "Open Balkan" plan, and I find it interesting! Thanks for the information!
Very true. As an Albanian myself it makes sense to get over old grudges(not forget them) with other balkan countries so that we can progress and move on forward to a prosperous future for all of us eastern Europeans.
(Edit)
But I disagree with you when you are saying that we shouldn't participate in regional collaborations just because serbia is doing so( and I don't agree with serbs on the kosovo debate) I think that with clever diplomacy we can agree on some solution in the future but for now I'm pro Balkan peace and collaboration.
It makes sense to throw away our independence and live in the same country as the serbs?Really?
@@tediprifti4348 i don't think they're talking about something like another Yugoslavia.. it seems like something more like a very loose European Union to make trade, working in neighboring countries and transiting through the region easier. But obviously there are many reasons to be skeptical of this idea considering past history.
@@yespls6260 Now granted you DO have a point,however the main premise of this video was to kind of throw around the idea of a "Balkan Union",not neccesarely just trade deals and the free-movement of people.
@@tediprifti4348 Yeah that's what this is really about
@@tediprifti4348 doesnt make sense for serbs too
As someone from one of these Balkan countries, this is so funny... whenever we hear about "little Schengen" in the news we make comments that the main reason they want it is to move drugs more easily. There are many reports about some of these governments being involved with people in the drug trade. And people... here we try to live one day at a time, live together as we mostly share similar cultures and languages, but whenever these politicians need some political points they start some neighbor drama (I think they have a mutual deal, you be my punching bag today, I'll be yours tomorrow), they try to stir up some conflict, make people hate each other again... also, they do that when they mess something up or some major scandal. And I can say, a lot of people are tired of that and ignore it, but those few that devour that nationalism talks are the ones that end up making a mess. The majority of us moved on...
Anyways, it is surprising seeing news from the Balkans on this channel, there is much crazier and more ridiculous, and dangerous stories too...
Okay, that's funny. Black humor. I like it.
I'm convinced the Balkans will find its way to a more united future, though that will probably be within the European Union. Serbia and Republika Srpska are going to be the last source of barriers and resistance to moving in that direction. But, once Putin falls, I think Serbs might start to come to their senses again, realizing the Putin was never going to be their slavic savior.
So um… Austria… how about a Habsburg Union?
Russia and the EU agreeing to an economic union in the Balkans right now is weird
Russia see it as an attempt to further its own goals thanks to Serbia, the EU on the other hand wants a more stable and developed region, it's very likely the EU would win out with those countries because the EU has far more to offer those countries than Russia has and that is only going to get worse for Russia as they go into decline.
Also, threatening and scaring countries doesn't help Russia case, in fact, Russia is playing into the hands of the EU because more countries want to join the EU and it looks like the EU is more open to enlargement.
@@paul1979uk2000 WIth Russia part i agre but EU wants stable and developed region?😂 Bro where do you live? Everybody and their mother know that Balkan people are cheap labor force for EU, no more, no less. Just look at other Blakan Nations that are part of EU, emigration from those is among highest emigration levels in the world.
Does the EU want another Russian-loving country (Serbia) after realized the amount of damage Hungary (another Russian admirer government) can do inside the EU?
Nope, we don't need a second Russian puppet in EU. 1 is more than enough
Hey I've seen this one before it's a classic!
*THE ONLY WAY THIS COULD BE A WORSE IDEA* is if you put Liz Truss in change of it...!!!
Nope, it would be worst if Turkey join as well😂
As an Albanian i really think that a Balkan Union is an interesting idea but i don't support the Open Ballkan Project and im not the only one
What's it major "No No" of the project?
@@puraLusa most Albanians see it as an opportunity for Serbia to exploit Albanian markets, add the fact that we joined without a demand for kosovan recognition, it made the Albanian government seem weak
@@zonaab8252 makes sense, it's a fair point.
@@jonizymberi6787 ya someone has already explain that pov, thanks anyway.
In Serbia some of us think opposite, that Albanians will exploit Serbian markets, especially the agricultural goods 😂
I am amazed to see Serbia and Albania working together even when they disagree on kosovo
I wouldn't trust the Serbs.
You should say Edi Rama and Vuciq working together. Because most people in Albania dont support it. Its a Serb dominated union that is just allowing Serb tourists to come here easily, buy up our land cheap + exploit our markets. We don't want or need that. Plus Serbia is not recognising Kosovo, so we gain nothing. Its not a popular idea and I dont think it will last long.
@@jonizymberi6787 Maybe if enough Serbs move to Albania and make enough children they will be able to declare independence ;)
@@squirrel9999 No bro how could land that was for 200 years albanian become independant just because a lot of serbs came there in a few years that is just bullshit. Thats so unfair if i were albanian i would start a war with them.
@@squirrel9999 Not Likely, Serbs have an extremely low birth rate. In 2021 Serbs had 74,000 more deaths then births. You should worry about trying to repopulate your dying country. If you are making an ironic comment in reference to Kosovo. Even according to the first census conducted by Serbs (so Serb numbers are inflated). in 1921 Kosovo was:
Muslims: 329,502 (75.1%) - Almost All Albanians
Eastern Orthodox Serbs: 93,203 (21.2%) - Almost all Serbs
Roman Catholics: 15,785 (3.6%) - Almost all Albanians + Croats
So you were a complete minority even 100 years ago. Lets talk about How Vojvodina became 70% Serbian today from being only 30% Serbian in 1921.
I wish them the greatest of success and look for a future where balkanisation means something different.
HMMMMMM I WONDER WHAT COULD GO WRONG TODAY
oh boy, this is gonna be a good video
If Serbia, Albania or North Macedonia were in an important geopolitical location like Bulgaria or Romania then they would already be in the EU.
North Macedonia*
@@HeroManNick132 thanks
This is so true
@Zaydan Naufal Bulgaria was chosen because of Russia. It is geopolitically revelvant because it is connected to the black sea.
@@HeroManNick132 Macedonia you Tatar
yeah timing is just perfect
This is the most error-filed TLDR video I've seen so far :D
Their every video is error-filled for people who actually know the subject. They get their subscribers by providing a soothing view for an average European, not doing any journalism
Yes it forgets 500 years of history… all Balkan or South Europe videos of TLDR have the same issue “British prospective”.
What do you mean?
Are you sure? The competition for that title is overwhelming.
@@viski2528 if you live in Balkans you have different prospective if you live in London or Brussels. If they would do any research they would first start by marking all the borders in Balkan and made economic union of tax free import-export.
The timing of this video is very interesting according to the scuttlebutt happening right now about armed clashes.
Rival to the EU? Investing? Come on this is like comparing a bicycle to a train.
Honestly, it actually sounds like a great idea and I hope they do it.
It is the worst idea ever
If it fails at least we might get some good music out of it again
That's some immaculate timing xd
Just before federal Yugoslavia broke up Serbia imposed import sanctions on Slovene goods. So this was happening within a "country", one region imposing sanctions on another region of the same country.
I don`t think most people in the wider Balkans want to have much to do with Serbia again if it can be helped.
Many Serbs are even secretly or in some cases publicly cheering on what Russia is doing in Ukraine.
We are not cheering for Russia. We are cheering against an US ally. If NATO went to war against devil himself, we would at best remain neutral.
@@arsic094 "communists hate liberals more than they hate fascism"
My friend in Belgrade says the "Z" faction there are turning into Nazis themselves. Beating up people, paining Z everywhere. I'll never go to Serbia again and I used to like going. They go on and on about the US bombing of Belgrade but they pretend Srebrenica never happened and ignore all the Russian war crimes of the last 5 months. My next visit to Belgrade will be after the Serbs get their ass kicked again.
Tell that to the Ukrainians
@@arsic094 What Russia did to Ukraine is just like what NATO did to Yugoslavia. By supporting Russia's military operation in Ukraine, you are also supporting NATO's bombing on Yugoslavia.
Everybody can cooperate and have a union, except with the Serbs.
And it isn't a mini EU, it is a Yugoslavia 2.0
Once all these countries are in the EU relations will improve gradually since there's freedom of movement and work and they aren't a threat to each other because they're part of a much larger group that keeps everything in check. Still I doubt a Balkan Union will _ever_ happen, for the same reason Portugal and Spain are excellent neighbours now they are both in the EU but an Iberian Union will _never_ happen.
Then accept them in the EU. Oh yeah, that will never happen
@@whitezombie10 It's not that simply, just look at Hungary and Poland, you can't bring countries in the EU until you're ready and it was a mistake the EU brought in Hungary and Poland with them backsliding but in the case of Poland, it looks like relations can improve with them whereas with Hungary, I think they are a lost cause that will in time be forced out of the EU one way or the other.
Before the EU can even think about bringing in other countries, it needs to sort out Hungary and Poland, they are the main obstacle to EU enlargement now, the second thing that's needed is reforms of the EU with vetoes and majority voting, until these issues are solved, I don't think the EU should allow any country in.
The EU reforms will need treaty change, I think that should happen over the next 3 years, as for the other problem, the problem with Poland might be solvable and in part because of what's going on in Ukraine, if the EU sorts Poland out, it will be a lot easier to sort Hungary out which I think the EU should kick Hungary out and that will probably happen in time.
Problem is both Serbia and Kosovo have to get in the EU. And Serbia would basically have to give Kosovo some legitimacy.
Until Serbia learns to get over it and accept the loss of Kosovo was a well earned consequence for committing the Bosnian genocide, they won’t join the EU.
@@whitezombie10 they need to show willingness to implement the necessary reforms. I was alive during my country's accession, it _has_ to be done and not only because it's in the EU's interest but because if a country isn't ready then the initial impact of joining a huge common market on industry and agriculture will be _devastating._
@@burningphoenix6679 I bet -Kosovo- _everyone_ gets in before Serbia. They're just too salty and seem to resent the whole process as if they were being _forced_ to join the EU.
Well, Balkans are not just the former state of Yugoslavia...
Oh boy here we go again.
It never hurts to try new things!
TLDR timing is great as always 😂
Anyone: Hey, how about peace on the Balkans?
Serbs: Leeeeeeeerooooooooooyyyy Jeeeenkiiiiiiiiiiiiiiins!
Everything, that has Serbia in the center of it, should be taken with skepticism.
“The writer does not dare dream of giving the best of his individuality. No, he must never express his anger. The vacillating demands of mediocrity must be satisfied. Amuse the people, be their clown, give them platitudes about which they can laugh, shadows of truth which they can hold as truths.”
― Aleksandar Hemon,
Dude wtf
This will never happen as the Croatian Constitution forbis any kind of "united Slavic state" from including them ever again. Plus with the tension between Albania+Kosovo and Serbia, the imminent dissolution of Bosnia, and Croatia's and Slovenia's EU membership a major Balkan country will never be achieved again.
Croatia: "Slovenia! Get the popcorn and palačinke!"
Slovenia: “Croatia! Get us čevapčiči and pleskavice!”
They went to EU but they mindset not.. Just go to Croatia RUclips trends.. Its always 99% same like in Serbia RUclips trend.. They still listen to our music and we listen to their and same also for other stuff.. Where most young Slovenians celebrate new year every year .. In Belgrade
@@dzonikg28 this young Slovenians have families from Balkans. Slovenia was no1 country for balkan worker’s who made Slovenia their home. As mentioned before 500 years of history…
@@dzonikg28 true slovenes never visit serbia. You are talking about foreign workers who move home for the holidays, no hate just saying.
Balkans without Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey is some former Yugoslavian republics decided to do something there.
I think the bottomline is that if Albania and North Macedonia are offered membership in the EU they would take it in a heartbeat over this. None of these countries really like Serbia and the EU would eventually pick all other countries in this region up.
So what? Don't they all say as much? And when will EU accept new members? Maybe 2033 and maybe later?
The issue is that you assume all those countries solemnly dislike Serbia and that they like one another. When it comes to economics, the political past is irrelevant. That in it self has pros and cons ofcourse.
However, the process of joining the EU could go into decades and all it takes is one country to veto the whole process.
An economic union of these said countries no doubt would make them friendlier to one another and these said countries relatively have stable relations whereas croatia and slovenia are not appart of it, which in itself may simplify the union itself.
@@draganmarkovic491 answer maybe in 100 years face it, Serbia,Macedonia,Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia are never joining the EU. I dont know why our cancerous politicians still think that
@@Wolverine-ky9gk I would only disagree when it comes to Montenegro, I can see them joining in future decades. They are small, already use Euro and don't have any serious problems internationally but the lingering possibility of Serbs coming to power in Montenegro and their huge organized crime problem is what is keeping them away...
There is a video of gun fighting on the Kosovo and Serbia border today along with air raid sirens going off
Must’ve taken this video to literally
English pronounciation of Sergey Lavrov gets me every time
Not really sure economic agreements actually build anything further. It’s not like NAFTA has brought Canada and Mexico all that close together.
this video aged like milk
Aged wonderfully
There's a reason why EU accession for those countries is so slow and it's not the fault of EU's bureaucrats, for once.
Those countries DO NOT comply with basic EU requirements and they seem to be getting worse, especially Serbia.
The EU is not a country club where you can think you are not admitted because members think you are not snobbish enough.
The leaders of those countries, instead of complaining, could work harder on EU requirements.
Oh please, get your head out of your butt! You think there is no corruption in the EU? You think there is no mafia in the EU? You think there is freedom of religion in the EU? What basic EU requirements are you referring to, so I can engage with you more specifically?
Why would we care for EU?Why would I from Serbia care for EU?
Has someone asked us to join EU?No.
We owe nothing to EU, and we could care less.
@@milostomic8539 He was probably talking about the other countries, who ARE interested
Balkan countries deserves peace and prosperity...
As seperate countries thank you
Just as we are discussing a new Union in the Balkans, Serbia seems to be attacking Kosovo. Or vice versa, as the Serbian president says. What turbulent times we live in.
Just like Ukraine was attacking Donbass for 8 years? 🤔
@@TotilaTheGoth just like Ukraine was planning to attack Belarus and Russia in March, both at the same time.
@@waldamy Nice try. But its exactly like with Donbass, except that you have a support of NATO/EU for your sovereignty, while we Serbs do not.
I seen this one before it's a classic!
As a Bulgarian, if Balkan Union isn't possible, I am happy to at least have our own Balkan Schegen area, or with Romania or Serbia at the very least
We've already been in a better one for 15 years.
The last time this happened it all worked out so well
As an Albanian I think this could go very wrong, very quick.
If Serbia dosent don't reflect on their crimes like Germany did after ww2.
The Balkans are one word away from war.
From 1 August Kosovo won't recognize Serbian car plates so if u want to travel to Kosovo with ur Serbian car plates u will have to change them. So Serbia are going berserk over this
BH is a mess. Macedonia also so it dosen't look good
Serbia has nothing to apologize for we did nothing wrong so you'll never get what your asking for.
This could be the first meaningful step towards peaceful reconciliation that we've seen in the Balkans since the 1990s. The problem is that Serbia has been moving deeper and deeper in a nationalist direction and is increasingly pro-Russia. Should anyone work with them on anything at present? I don't know that it is smart to reward that government.
Ironically this might make membership for single members of this union in the EU even more unlikely. Since they have the 4 Freedoms between each other any member actually joining the EU would instantly have to establish a border again and drop those Freedoms because the Single Market and Customs Union is legally and in regards to regulations and standard different otherwise the integrity of the single market would be breached.
If it works for them ... fine cooperation is always good. But make sure you know what you doing and are not taken over by Serbia and Russia with this.
The EU can accept members in blocks. If they’re all in a union together, they can progress through the EU application process in lockstep and join at the same time. Honestly, depending on how it goes, they could form a confederacy and join as a single country. That’s very unlikely it seems but it’s a possibility.
@@jonathanodude6660 Not with a political unstable group of countries who have issues amongst themselves, members with half-way dictatorial political structures who try to take over all others and little respect for the Rule of Law and/or Democracy and being in strong influence under a War-Faring Nation.
@@AaronOkeanos that’s the same for individual countries though. Being in a group doesn’t change that.
Please make the text more readable, over the hole screen, we do not need to see you, the presenter all the time, but we need to be able to read the text, if you want a thumbs up!
As a Serb I can tell you this Open Balkan thing is just a way for our criminal leaders to smuggle drugs and other illegal items over borders more easily. I support cooperation especially with countries that have a substantial Serb population but this won't help us much.
Thats what I was thinking first, basically Kosovo, Albania, partly Montenegro and Serbia are smuggling economy. All the heroin and other drugs pour through them. No borders? Great idea :P
People who share the same language do not trust you for all the crimes what serbs have done, imagine that if that trust would come from Albanians, it will never happen.
With Russian aggression in Ukraine, the EU is speeding up the process of allowing countries to join the EU but there is a problem and that is mostly Hungary and to a lest degree, Poland.
The EU isn't likely going to let any new country into the union until those two countries are sorted out on the backsliding on democracy and even then, there is also the factor that the EU will need treaty change, reforms are needed in areas of vetoes and majority voting because it's clear the EU can't go on like this when one member can hold the rest to ransom.
That doesn't mean vetoes need to go away but it needs to be done better, maybe by a percentage of members need to be onboard to veto something and not just one like it is now and until those two problems are solved, the EU shouldn't let any new member in as it will only cause more problems down the line without those reforms being done.
I think the EU needs to get treaty change over the next 3 years and I think Hungary really needs to be kicked out of the EU, to make room for more deserving countries like Ukraine and others.
As for the Balkan idea, it doesn't sound like a bad idea because sooner or later these countries are going to have to resolve their differences between each other if they ever want to be part of the EU, there's nothing stopping them doing that whiles waiting for the EU to do the reforms needed, it would likely being those countries much closer to EU membership.
You do realize that kicking out Hungary would cut off Romania, Bulgaria and Greece from the rest of the block, right?
@@fil2337 Not if Ukraine join, which might be an hidden point of the fast processing of Ukraine candidature.
Still the adriatic/mediterranean sea exist.
And kicking out the Hungary of today is worth some infrastructure troubles imo
There is no current way to kick out a member. Think hard to yourself whether any current or future members on bad standing with the eu would willingly choose to pass legislation that would most likely be used against them.
Go finish your breakfast💩 instead of talking non- sence
I believe it is a very healthy initiative. Balkan region is strong and it will help integration with EU partners.
Maybe it would be beneficial to use the Swiss model? In CH each canton is a separate entity, but internationally it is beeing represent by a single president.
yes lets do it
i think this is a great idea here's why first it would speed up the accession to the eu secound it would make the people of the balkans united again and third it would ensure that all the countries here can uniformally join the eu as 1 but i honestly think we should incorporate turkey and maybe maldova into this because a good argument could be made there in the balkans
Turkey can never enter the EU because its an Islamic country with different values.
@@swamidude2214 that's not necessary true the europeans don't care if it's an islamic county or not
N Macedonia, Albania, & Serbia: Let's form our own band in defiance of the E.U!
N Macedonia: Yes.
Albania & Serbia - *glaring noises*
...
Serbia & Albania: Okay fine...
Germany: Wait that's illegal...
This aged like milk
You should do a video on the Canzuk trade alliance.
You must feel like a jinx today
Well, this aged like fine milk
Vucic is at the heart of the balkan initiative, he was also the former minister of information (and war propaganda) of genocidal serbian leader Milosevic during the war in the 90's.
As a leader since 2017, its relationships with Kosovo, Croatia, Montenegro or Bosnia are terrible, most of them accusing him to play with the "greater serbia" nationalist delirium.
The main difference between EU treaties and the Balkan Initiative is the absence of political and institutionnal requirement (democracy, rule of law and such)
TLDR is not an info-channel
With God Help Balkan Republic 🙏💪
"There's also a plan for a mini-erasmus scheme to encourage student exchanges" which is of relevance to all 5 students who haven't left the Balkans
It’s actually a plot by the Montenegrin government to get our Universities accepted anywhere outside of the country lol
Actually more foreign student come to Serbia then leaves Serbia for education.
@@draganmarkovic491
How many of graduated students leave Serbia though?
@@andin3720 Many, wages are way higher in western Europe.
The Balkans... Union and cooperation? I didn't know you guys made comedic videos.
Serbia, Bosnia, Albania into an alliance ?
Nothing wrong can go with that.
Who shoot first? hahahaha
@@YujiroHanmaaaa Memes aside, its good that they want to cooperate, what I suspect might ruin this is the good old Balkan corruption.
Mi smo isti ljudi, ako budemo razdvojeni, uvjek će biti prepucavanja!
Idk man, there's a good reason Yugoslavia split up, forcing them back into a political union seems like a reciple for trouble.
why? life was clearly better under Tito
Possibly correct to be suspicious about how much this is a Balkan Union and how much Greater Serbia. These populations don't have a history of mutual high regard. I read recently a comment about the apparent peaceable relations in pre breakup Yugoslavia: "Tito put a policeman on every corner to make sure we all loved one another," (Can't immediately locate my source)
I don't know about your source, since I haven't heard this quote yet .... but pretty much. There was a concerned effort to unite the republics. Ultimately, it was a side efect of multiethnic country relying on one person to keep it together. And that is usualy not a good idea. Because every person eventualy dies. EU is much better union, since it dosen't rely on one leader. Or even one country. But on shared set of ideas. This is better. But it's still tricky, as it works only to the point those ideas are shared.
There are way to many unsolved issues(BiH internally,Serbia with Kosovo,Montenegro,maybe even BiH to some extent, Albania with Serbia over Kosovo). Also questionable democratic standards in some, though I don't know enough about their internal issues to be sure. I'm more than happy we (Cro) left those integrations for EU and mostly solved lingering issues, even if the cost (of war) was high on every level. It is not even coming from a nationalistic perspective, and considering that we are mostly speaking the same (or at the very least mutually intelligible) language it would make closer cooperation seem natural, but there are just way too many issues that are not only unresolved, but also still used and even emphasized in daily politics, chances for long term stability just don't look good enough at present or near future.
Supposed issues with slow EU integration feel a bit charadic. Just an impression, again not something I'm following, but the impression is that EU keeps the pretense to maintain a level of influence in the region, some candidate countries (certainly Serbia and Turkey, even if T is outside this conversation, not sure about Albania, BiH is ... complicated) in order to wrestle some economic and political benefits while neither the EU wants something potentially more problematic than Hungary, nor do some of those countries really want to go through agreements and reforms in the judicial and political institutions that might harm established and well dig in power structures. It is a show for the media and voters with questionable levels of serious intent on either side, or that is how it looks like at the moment, I'm sure everyone wants to keep options open.
I am curious to know, as a Croat, and maybe you know others' opinion too, what stance do you take if Croatia would veto Serbia joining the EU? Would that make you happy, uncontended or neutral?
@@Flavor88 Not really something I gave too much consideration as it does not seem to be happening anny time soon. Being somewhat of a pragmatist my stance would depend on whatever considerations would be present at the time, and would also require more research into possible consequences,pro and con. Wich I would probably have no reason to waste that much time on and therefore be somewhat neutral towards parliamentary and government decisions, specially if one could assume they are acting on much better info than I could possibly have.
In general our politicians do seem too have, declaratively at least, a constant multi-government possition across the biggest parties that supports joining. Might be playing along dominant wider EU policies, might be for certain potential economic benefits if those markets are of interest, might be of security benefit considering our crazy long borders and the demands of the same being also EU borders, might be an interest in potentially greater stability of the region, who knows. At the same they don't have the size, budget, military or other influence to dominate EU politics in a significant way, unlike in Balkan unions. Whatever the reason I have not seen significant opposition to Serbia joining EU in dominant political groups, but mostly support.
@@Flavor88Almost everyone knows Croatia would veto Serbia's EU membership that's also another reason nobody in Serbia believes in the EU talk and going by the latest poll numbers it's only 30% of the population that would want to join.
@@goranmekota7540 Seems reasonable. Cheers
@@bilic8094 Well, Serbia is free to chose what it wants. Its not like the EU is begging Serbia to join. I don't think Croatia would veto Serbia, might ask for "forgiveness or sorry" but I doubt that they will play like Bulgaria with Macedonia.
Albania: lol,what am i doing here?