Has the EU bitten off more than it can chew in the Balkans?
Alistair Burnett writes:
The World Tonight's Paul Moss has been in the Balkans in the past few weeks to assess the challenge facing the European Union's attempts at nation-building in Bosnia and the disputed territory of Kosovo.
In Kosovo, the EU's most ambitious mission yet - known as EULEX - is attempting to build up the rule of law in a region where there is little tradition of respect for a European-style legal system as opposed to brute force, and where organised crime and corruption are recognised to be endemic. The EU is also attempting to do this in a situation where the international legitimacy of the state they are working in is disputed. (Paul's article about this is here.)
Eighteen months ago, Kosovo, backed by the US, Britain and some others, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, but this was opposed by Belgrade, with support from Russia and some EU members, led by Spain. This means the law and justice mission the EU has set itself - which is already pretty ambitous - is efffectively helping build the institutions of an independent Kosovo, which not all members of the EU have recognised.
In Bosnia, the EU has a High Representative - nicknamed by some 'the Viceroy' - who is charged with overseeing the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement that brought an end to the war in 1990s which killed around 100,000 people, and with trying to bring the formerly warring parties - the Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, closer together. Since 1995, the country has been made up of two disparate parts, the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the Serb Republic. But the EU's efforts have run into difficulties because political leaders in both parts of the country are challenging the authority of the EU and playing the nationalist card, and there are doubts as to whether the EU has the commitment to do more than try to manage the status quo.
But many observers believe something will have to give. Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo all want to join the EU, and officially the EU says it wants them to join at the same time -though quite when is not clear. But unless the two parts of Bosnia agree to integrate more closely and unless Serbia and the Albanian majority in Kosovo can come to terms on the future of the territory, which doesn't look likely at the moment, that objective looks difficult to achieve.
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It is difficult for anyone to suggest some model for governments and law in the present. The US, UK and others allowed a corrupt banking system to throw the world into a financial crisis without any legal ramifications for those who brought this on. Not only were no legal actions taken but they were rewarded and provided with taxpayer funds to cover their scam. China, the autocratic state with an oppressive regime seems to be the model for economic success with no labor standards or quality controls...the captialist dream. Many of these issues stem from the post world war II decisions on how to carve up Europe. No one escapes their history. The grouping of nations is a further effort on the part of the bankers to simplify their operations and find governments that will not look too closely at their operations or as in most cases can be bought. The lesson to be learned is that in a global economy (or global banking system) how does one protect the interest of their nation. Bankers don't care about nations or peoples or cultures or much of anything other than money. Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo must agree to borders before anything else can proceed. A nation has less meaning than it did simply a decade ago, cultures are becoming singular and the individual is simply a consumer of products and cog in the international workforce designed to consolidate wealth in the hands of the few. Their are cetain protections that are afforded through inefficiencies and small operations and those being eliminated. The question is: who benefits?
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The EU didn't "bite off more than it can chew"; to get the real feeling the EU ought to swallow Georgia or Ukraine. In fact, either piece, a bit of Caucasus or Ukraine - would do :o)))))
BTW, there is already a good piece ready to join the EU - namely Western Ukraine - ex-Poland (16th century :o) - partly catholic, hotly Ukrainian nationalistic, lovely anti-Russian - that bit is all ready :o))))
As to the whole Ukraine, that'll be somewhat more tricky. :o)
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"In Kosovo, the EU's most ambitious mission yet - known as EULEX - is attempting to build up the rule of law in a region where there is little tradition of respect for a European-style legal system as opposed to brute force"
There was very little respect for the rule of law with regards to war crimes investigations after the NATO bombings of 1999. The new head of the War Crimes Tribunal, Carla Del Ponte, was asked in an interview with the Observer whether she was prepared to prosecute NATO personnel for possible war crimes. She said...
"If I am not willing to do that, I am not in the right place. I must give up my mission"
There were plenty of potential war crimes to investigate. For example the the deliberate bombing of a Serbian TV station which killed 15 civilians. (Certainly if a foreign power targeted the BBC and killed civilians, it would be treated as a war crime.)
However, major powers were outraged and she was put under much pressure. Her office then made the following statement.
"NATO is not under investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICTY. There is no formal inquiry into the actions of NATO during the conflict in Kosovo"
So there wasn't a single investigation into any misdeeds by NATO. That tells you everything you need to know about our respect for the legal system.
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