Conference Paper

For a long time membership of the European Union and NATO has been presented as the panacea to many of the economic, political and security ills confronting the Western Balkans (Albania, BiH, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia). Yet, the road to EU integration has been long and arduous for those aspirant countries from the region. Britain has played a significant role in the recent history of the Western Balkans in trying to bring stability to parts of the region, during the so-called wars of Yugoslav secession and in the post-conflict aftermath and period of reconstruction and transition. Witness the efforts and achievements in the past of Lord Carrington, Lord Owen, Sir Paddy Ashdown, Sir Robert Cooper and Baroness Ashton inter alia. In the aftermath of the UK referendum on the EU, held on 23 June 2016, how will Britain’s decision to leave the EU impact on the UK’s relationship with the six states of the Western Balkans? The UK may well lose its influence within the EU, yet one positive aspect is the UK’s continued commitment to NATO. Nevertheless, membership of NATO might hold less appeal to some of the citizens of the Western Balkan countries, by comparison with membership of the EU. In passing, reference will be made to Russia’s growing ‘soft power’ influence and its increasing political leverage in the region.