The process of globalisation has brought the world to a state of interdependence without precedent in human history.¹* The two world wars brought great destruction, but also the belief that peace and security are indivisible. The end of the Cold War, liberalisation of the world economy and the information revolution since the end of the last century have only accelerated the process of security cooperation and integration, particularly in Europe. Of the numerous organisations which compose the architecture of European security in the post-Cold War period, two stand out as the most important. These are the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation...
The text in front of you sets out a vision for the participation of the Republic of Serbia in EU Battlegroups in the period from 2010 to 2020. It should be mentioned that what we have in mind is a policy vision, a text which should serve as a long-lasting inspiration for decision making in this field. Its aim is first of all to present the current state of the CSDP and EU Battlegroups. The text also offers reasons for the Republic of Serbia to act proactively to participate in this EU policy. Lastly, it attempts to point out an...
Since it was founded at the beginning of the 1950s, today’s European Union, formerly the European Community (EC), has had a significant role on the international stage. Due to the failure of the idea of creating a European Defence Community in 1954, its role during the Cold War was above all economic. However, the end of the Cold War created a new reality in Europe which required, among other things, the strengthening of the political and security role of the EU in its international relations. Because of its reluctance to play a significant role during the war in Iraq in...
The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) was formed in large part as a reaction to security challenges coming from the Western Balkans. The policy took its first steps in just this area, before missions were deployed to other geographical regions. Although not yet EU members, individual West-Balkan states are currently beginning to participate in this increasingly important policy. For the moment, these states are Croatia, Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro.25
According to data from March 2009, 3.4% of the total Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Oružanih snaga Republike Hrvatske - OSRH) are engaged in 14 operations on...
After the fall of the Iron Curtain, almost all former communist East European states first of all sought, and later gained, membership of the EU and NATO. While the rest of Europe was becoming more unified during the 1990s, the Western Balkans was undergoing a process of political division. As soon as armed conflict was over, the new states in this region recognised inclusion in Euro-Atlantic security systems as their primary national interest. Until the end of 2007, Serbia was no exception to this. However, In December of that year, shortly before the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo, the...
Serbia has already lost a lot of time on the road to European integration. The states of Central and Eastern Europe signed an agreement on association with the EU only one year after the change of regime, and submitted candidacy applications only four or five years later. Croatia, only one year after its political changes, in 2001 to be more exact, signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU. It submitted a candidacy application in 2003, and received candidate status in 2004. Serbia signed its Stabilisation and Association Agreement eight years after its own changes, and in the best...
