The European Union and the Western Balkans : democratic stabilisation.
Date: 2008-03-04
Institutions: EuropeAid Co-operation Office
Subjects: EU programme, EU relations, Western Balkans, democratisation, humanitarian aid

The European Union and 
t h e W e s t e r n B a l k a n s

Democratic 
Stabilisation

Democratic stabilisation - rebuilding societies in the Wes

Shared goals

A fully functioning and stable democracy is one of the bases of a modern society. And as the countries of
the Western Balkans construct their future, they are working towards building secure democracies that
will serve to underpin their political, economic, and social development.

This  is  an  ambition  shared  with  the  European  Union,  which  has  expanded  its  area  of  peace,  stability,
prosperity and freedom over the last 50 years based on core democratic values and principles.

Improvements  to  the  electoral  system,  the  strengthening  of  civil  society,  the  growth  of  independent
media, and the chance to return home for those displaced in recent years – these are all components of a
stable democracy, necessary to ensure peace and prosperity for all people living in the region.

Delivering assistance
The  EU  is  spending  over  € 261  million  between  2000  and  2004  to  boost  democratic  stabilisation  in
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia and
Montenegro.  Most  of  the  assistance  is  delivered  through  the  EU  programme  known  as  'Community
Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation' – CARDS – with a commitment of € 4.65
billion to the region between 2000 and 2006.

Assistance  is  focused  on  helping  societies  in  the  region  build  and  strengthen  their  own  democratic
institutions.  Support  is  given  to  selected  legislative  change  to  enhance  the  framework  for  democracy
with training offered to officials to help administrations function correctly. Also important are efforts to
build  democracy  from  grass-roots  level  to  eradicate  discrimination,  reconcile  ethnic  tensions  and
improve human and civil rights. And the EU is helping to promote active and effective non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and the emergence of vibrant independent media.

G r a d u a l l y t h e p e o p l e
displaced  during  times  of
conflict  in  the  region  are
coming  home.  But  home-
coming isn't always as easy
as it should be - so the EU
is helping overcome some of
the difficulties.

A  € 3.3  million  CARDS
Refugee Return in Bosansko Grahovo, September 2003
funded project is running to help the return of refugees and displaced persons to some of the most
sensitive areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The  help  is  comprehensive  and  concrete  with  repairs  to  heavily  damaged  houses  and  flats,  and
renewal of water and electricity supplies. There is an emphasis on rebuilding local industries, on job
creation,  and  support  for  the  start-up  of  smaller  firms.  And  the  returnees  have  often  been  directly
involved in the rehabilitation work too.

Over 300 houses have been made suitable for use again. Altogether, well over one thousand people
now have somewhere they can call home. Workshops and training sessions have helped show how
new businesses can create new activity for the people who have come back. 

For all the families that have come back home, CARDS has helped create a climate of re-integration, 
co-existence and reconciliation. 

stern Balkans

Law  students  from
the  Saints  Cyril  and
Methodius  University
in  Skopje  and  the
University  of  South
East  Europe  in  Tetovo
are working alongside
the Institute for Social
Studies in The Hague,
s i m u l t a n e o u s l y
researching and improving inter-ethnic relations.

Triangle Thematic Seminar, fYR Macedonia, December 2003.

This € 200,000 programme, aptly named "Triangle", is running through 2003 and 2004, giving 30
young people from different universities and ethnic backgrounds in the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia the chance to work together under academic supervision to deepen understanding of
different ethnic groups in the country.

The  students  are  researching  the  operation  of  the  national  judiciary  system  in  respect  of  inter-
ethnic relations in a comparison with the European Convention for Human Rights and the European
Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities. One of the end-products will be the
publication of a compendium highlighting where legislation and practice should be modified so that
inter-ethnic relations are improved. A series of public debates is also being held.

v

The  students  themselves  -  Macedonians,  Albanians,  Roma,  Turks  and  Serbs  -  say  that  working
together leads to more dialogue and greater tolerance. Six working groups have been created, each
with  five  students  from  diverse  backgrounds,  focusing  particularly  on  non-discrimination,  police
treatment, and detention. A committee with student representatives from each university helps co-
ordinate  the  work  the  students  are  doing,  and  chooses  themes  and  outside  experts  to  examine
issues in more depth. 

One of the beneficial side-effects of the project is to build up experience of this type of approach to
developing civil society. And already the project is generating high-level enthusiasm, commitment
and motivation as people learn to consider and respect the opinion of others.

The challenges

For  those  in  the  region  who  have  suffered  forcible  displacement,  democratic  stability  gives  the  security  of
knowing that no-one is going to arbitrarily demand that you leave your home. Others are seeking a relationship
with local authorities or politicians that is based on a constitution rather than ethnic links. For those who lost
possessions  in  the  disruptions  of  recent  conflicts,  it  can  mean  the  possibility  of  returning  home,  or  of
recuperating such personal items as educational certificates or family photos. 

Solid democracies count on a thriving civil society to promote citizen involvement and to ensure accountability
of those in power. But the region has until now had an underdeveloped civil society, with insufficient financial
resources and a lack of expertise. There has been a lack of effective co-operation between the scattered NGOs,
and little contact between them and government. 

Without  healthy  external  review  through  the  media,  democracy  lacks  one  of  its  indispensable  supports.  At
present new media outlets in the region are still moving towards political and economic independence and
building  strong  professional  structures,  while  media  related  legislation,  such  as  regulatory  issues  or
defamation charges, often needs perfecting. State-owned and private media remain subject to interference on
editorial  policy,  journalists  cannot  always  work  without  fear  of  political  meddling,  and  the  relatively  novel
concept of access to public information is still emerging.  

The EU response

The EU has made a difference – and is continuing to do so. Return of refugees and displaced people to
their pre-war homes remains a key priority, to support minority and spontaneous return. The EU is also
working  to  help  ensure  return  is  sustainable,  through  developing  business  and  employment
opportunities in return areas. 

Civil society organisations are being helped to contribute to democratic stability and the overall progress
of the country. Their partnerships with local authorities are being strengthened so they can articulate and
advance the demands and concerns of citizens. This is allowing civil society to play a major role in social,
political, cultural and economic life, fostering human rights and democracy at grass roots level. This often
transcends  ethnic  links  or  provides  alternative  channels  for  expression,  particularly  for  marginalised
groups such as women and Roma communities, the handicapped and unemployed, and children. 

The creation and implementation of anti-discrimination laws has a double value in an area as ethnically
complex as the Western Balkans. They not only protect a minority community under potential threat in one
of the countries in the region: they can also provide reassurance to majority groups in other countries that
their  ethnic  cousins  are  adequately  protected  in  a  neighbouring  country.  In  this  way,  democratic
stabilisation can promote acceptance of the European values of co-existence and reconciliation.

Practical help

Proper and just legislation is one of the first steps to developing and supporting a well functioning civil society.
CARDS helps ministries improve the legislative process. Institutions are being assisted to administer new laws
on  elections,  media  and  support  to  civil  society,  and  officials  are  being  given  new  skills  and  organisational
methods. On-the-spot experts from EU Member States are funded through "twinning" programmes to share
their experiences with their counterparts in the region and help them drive forward reforms. 

Consolidating democracy means the successful management of refugee return in many parts of the region.
This  process  presupposes  efforts  to  rebuild  homes  and  infrastructure  and  promote  regional  economic
development. It also aims to help forge closer links between returnees and local municipalities and NGOs
and promote local and regional co-operation to help revitalise local economies. 

CARDS allocation for democratic stabilisation 

Million Euro 2001-2004
5.5
Albania
93.6
73.7
17
62.8
13.4

Regional

fYR Macedonia

Bosnia and Herzegovina       

Croatia

Serbia and Montenegro*

*  Kosovo

44.3

Montenegro

1

Serbia

17.5

Independent  media  is  being
p ro m o t e d t h ro u g h lo c a l
training  to  raise  journalistic
professionalism  and  improve
e d i t o r i a l
i n d e p e n d e n c e .
Projects  are  building  legal
f r a m e w o r k s t h a t m a t c h
E u r o p e a n s t a n d a r d s i n
guaranteeing access to  public
information and  protection  for
journalists,  and  promoting
regional  co-operation  between
media organisations. 

The EU has also helped
independent media with

running costs and the  purchase  of  equipment,  and  is  increasingly focused on  encouraging  an
environment where professional and independent media can function properly. 

Practical  help  is  also  given  to  increase  the  capacity  and  quality  of  NGOs,  enhancing  co-operation
amongst them, and promoting regular dialogue with government. 

Perspectives for the future

Through its assistance CARDS is helping to develop stable democratic systems in the countries of the
region and ensuring that political priorities reflect the general public interest, rather than consolidating
the grip of entrenched power groups.

But the EU commitment goes beyond immediate technical assistance in democratic stabilisation. The EU
has spelled out a clear vision of the way that each element of reform in the region is linked to preparation
for eventual membership of the EU. Progress in democratic stabilisation underpins other vital reforms in
economic and social life, in justice and home affairs, and in environmental protection – by increasingly
giving the citizens in the region a direct stake in the changes underway. 

in 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of 
citizens were forced from their
homes  during  the  recent 
conflicts 
the  Western
Balkans,  and  many  of  these
are still unable to return. Since
1996,  the  EU  Programme  for
Reconstruction  and  Return
has  worked  to  support  the
reintegration  and 
return, 
reconciliation  of  refugees  and  displaced  persons  in  Croatia.  At  the  end  of  2003,  there  were  an  estimated
190,000  Croatian  refugees  in  Serbia  and  Montenegro  and  a  further  19,500  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina, 
representing a major barrier to development across the region.

Refugee Return in Croatia, September 2003

The  former  homes  often  require  rebuilding  before  families  can  return,  but  in  addition,  public 
infrastructure (such as power, water and sewage systems), and social infrastructure (such as schools
and  healthcare)  often  needs  to  be  reinstated.  Furthermore,  returning  families  need  employment 
possibilities or other income generating facilitation to support sustainable return.

This  reconstruction  project,  funded  by  the  EU’s  CARDS  programme,  has  a  three-pronged  approach.
Initially, investigations are undertaken to establish if the conditions are right for people to return to a
particular  area.  Then,  contractors  are  appointed  to  rebuild  houses.  The  third  component  provides 
assistance  to  the  returnees  to  allow  them  to  support  themselves,  filing  applications  for  homes, 
administrative  and  legal  procedures.  It  also  helps  local  NGOs  with  practicalities  such  as  writing 
proposals for further sustainability support projects.

Identifying and selecting the beneficiaries is the hardest part of the project. However, by mid-2004, this
programme  had  funded  the  reconstruction  of  1,000  destroyed  private  properties  in  Croatia,  thereby 
providing viable accommodation for approximately 3,500 returned refugees and displaced persons.

Contacts

EuropeAid Co-operation Office
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels
Fax: (+32 2) 296 74 82
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/projects/cards/index_en.htm  

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Directorate General for External Relations
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels
Fax: (+32 2) 299 21 98
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/see/index.htm

Delegation of the European Commission to Albania
Tirana, Rruga Donika Kastrioti - Villa n°42
Tel: (+355) 42 28 320 / Fax: (+355) 42 30 752
http://www.delalb.cec.eu.int

Delegation of the European Commission to Bosnia and Herzegovina
71000 Sarajevo, Dubrovacka 6 
Tel: (+387 33) 66 60 44 / Fax: (+387 33) 66 60 37 
http://www.delbih.cec.eu.int 

Delegation of the European Commission to the Republic of Croatia
10000 Zagreb, Masarykova 1 
Tel: (+385 1) 48 96 500 / Fax: (+385 1) 48 96 555
http://www.delhrv.cec.eu.int 

Delegation of the European Commission to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
1000 Skopje, Marsal Tito 12
Tel: (+389 2) 312 20 32 / Fax: (+389 2) 312 62 13
http://www.delmkd.cec.eu.int 

Delegation of the European Commission to Serbia and Montenegro
11000 Belgrade, Krunska 73 
Tel: (+381 11) 367 24 11 / Fax: (+381 11) 367 11 43
http://www.delscg.cec.eu.int

European Agency for Reconstruction
Headquarters
54626 Thessaloniki - Egnatia 4, Greece
Tel: (+30 2310) 505 100 / Fax: (+30 2310) 505 172
http://www.ear.eu.int 

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© European Communities  2004

Photographers: Dejan Vekić (Sarajevo), Almin Zrno (Sarajevo), Roland Tasho (Tirana)