The United States and the international community have achieved substantial successes in the Balkans since the 1990s. The wars in the former Yugoslavia were ended. All of the countries of the region are undertaking political and economic reforms and orienting their foreign policies toward Euro-Atlantic institutions. U.S. officials have stated that ensuring the stability of the Balkans is an important part of a U.S. vital interest in securing a Europe whole, free, and at peace. For more than thirteen years, the United States has provided significant aid and troop deployments to the Balkans in support of this goal. Both aid amounts and the U.S. troop commitments have declined as the region has stabilized and more pressing U.S. foreign policy priorities have emerged. At the same time, the European Union has increased its role, with the ultimate goal of extending EU membership to the countries of the region. However, analysts believe the United States still may have an important role to play in the Balkans. Observers note that the United States has political credibility in the region, particularly among Bosniaks and Albanians, which the Europeans may lack. In particularly, some analysts say that greater U.S. diplomatic engagement is needed to re-energize constitutional reforms in Bosnia, which have languished since 2006. The region may have a higher strategic profile given U.S. use of military bases in Romania and Bulgaria, which could be useful for U.S. operations in the Middle East. Continued U.S. attention may also be needed to uproot possible terrorist networks in the region. On February 17, 2008, Serbia's Kosovo province declared its independence. The United States and 22 of the 27 European Union countries (including key states such as Britain, France, Germany, and Italy) have recognized Kosovo as an independent state. In all, at least 58 countries have recognized Kosovo so far. Serbia, which considers Kosovo as part of its territory, sharply condemned the move, and declared it to be null and void. Belgrade downgraded diplomatic relations with the United States and other countries that recognized Kosovo. Serbia has been joined in its opposition by Russia, China, and five EU countries (Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia, which have ethnic minority concerns of their own, and/or are traditional allies of Serbia). When it declared independence, Kosovo pledged to implement a status settlement plan proposed by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari. The plan calls for an independent Kosovo to be supervised by the international community for an undefined period. Kosovo is not permitted to merge with another country or part of another country. The document contains provisions aimed at safeguarding the rights of ethnic Serbs and other minorities in Kosovo. Six Serbian-majority municipalities are to be given expanded powers over their own affairs. Local police in these areas are to reflect the ethnic composition of the locality. The judiciary and central government have to reflect the ethnic composition of Kosovo, and all laws having a special impact on an ethnic minority can only be adopted by a majority of that ethnic group's representatives in parliament. International missions led by the European Union supervise Kosovo's compliance with the Ahtisaari plan. The pro-Western government that took power in Belgrade in July 2008 remains dedicated to opposing Kosovo's independence by diplomatic means. It scored a notable success on October 8, 2008, when the U.N. General Assembly voted to refer the question of the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence to the International Court of Justice. A decision on the case is not expected for several years. Many experts believe Serbia is aiming at (and has largely achieved) a de facto separation of the Serbian-dominated northern part of Kosovo from the rest of the country. Local Serbs recognize only the authority of the Serbian government, and receive subsidies from Belgrade. On the other hand, the Serbian government reluctantly acquiesced in the deployment in December 2008 of EULEX, an EU-led law and order mission, to northern Kosovo. Belgrade was able to negotiate terms that formally placed EULEX under the U.N. umbrella, thereby politically distancing Serbia from the Ahtisaari plan, which recognizes Kosovo's independence. The security situation in Kosovo has stabilized somewhat since February 2008 although sporadic outbreaks of violence continue to occur. If there is large-scale violence between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo, large numbers of Serbs could leave the province, particularly those living in isolated enclaves in the southern part of Kosovo. Serbia hopes that the ICJ case will keep the Kosovo status issue open by discouraging additional diplomatic recognitions. Indeed, the diplomatic stalemate over Kosovo's independence could indefinitely delay Kosovo's entry into the United Nations (due to the opposition of Russia) and, in the long term, into the EU and NATO. On the other hand, keeping Kosovo open as a diplomatic issue could negatively affect Serbia's EU membership prospects as well, given that all but 5 EU countries have already recognized Kosovo. Such countries currently support Serbia's early steps toward EU integration, despite differences on Kosovo. However, they could decide in the more distant future that Serbian membership itself should wait until Belgrade recognizes Kosovo, in order to avoid importing an intractable ethno-territorial dispute into the EU and foreclosing Kosovo's own possible future membership. Some observers have suggested that one possible way out of the impasse is a partition of Kosovo, presumably at the current de facto dividing line. Partition has been raised as a possibility (although not advocated) by Serbian President Boris Tadic. However, partition is vociferously opposed by Kosovo's leaders, who insist that their government must have sovereignty over all of Kosovo. The United States and the EU also oppose partition. Some experts fear that partition could destabilize the region by encouraging similar demands by Serbs in Bosnia or by ethnic Albanians in southern Serbia and perhaps Macedonia. The domestic political situation in the Balkan countries has improved since the end of the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s. All the countries in the region have held largely free and fair elections, although some problems with elections still need to be addressed. Civil society groups and independent media express a wide variety of views, but sometimes face pressure from government authorities. The countries in the region have redrawn their constitutions along more democratic lines, but some constitutional provisions in Serbia and other countries are still less than ideal. Serious problems remain. The legitimacy of democratic institutions is challenged by the weakness of government structures. The countries of the region lack effective, depoliticized public administration. The police and judicial systems in many countries are weak and often politicized. Government corruption is a serious problem in all of the countries of the region. Organized crime is a powerful force in the region and is often allied with key politicians, police, and intelligence agency officials. Albania, Macedonia, and other countries of the region have had problems in developing a stable, democratic political culture. This has resulted in excessively sharp tension between political parties that has at times hindered effective governance. Relatedly, ethnic tension remains a serious problem in many countries of the region, particularly in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. Too often, party leaders, with their power to distribute patronage, contracts, and other sources of largesse, are the real power in these countries, overriding the rule of law. In countries where ethnic tensions are great, leaders of ethnically based parties can use such tensions as an additional means of popular manipulation and control. Although the international community has provided large amounts of aid and advice to strengthen local institutions and the rule of law, it may itself be responsible for some of the problems. The United States and its European allies helped craft the decentralized political system of Bosnia, which was a product of post-war political compromise. Since the late 1990s, they have viewed the arrangement as an unworkable one that hinders the country's Euro-Atlantic integration, and have pushed for the strengthening of central government institutions, but have faced resistance and obstruction, mainly from Bosnian Serbs leaders. Some observers have asserted that political tensions within Bosnia could even lead to a resumption of violence, particularly if the Bosnian Serbs attempt to secede from Bosnia. In both Bosnia and Kosovo, international officials frequently imposed policies from above, perhaps fostering a culture of dependency and political irresponsibility among local elites. Given these problems, the region's transition to democracy and the rule of law is likely to be lengthy and difficult. The economies of the region face the burden of a Communist legacy as well as well as resistance to economic transparency by many local leaders. Some of the region's economic problems are closely related to its political problems. Weak and corrupt state structures have been an obstacle to rationalizing tax and customs systems to provide adequate revenue for social programs and other government functions. The absence of the rule of law has hampered foreign investment in some countries due to concern over the sanctity of contracts. In Bosnia, the lack of a strong central government and the division of the country into two semi-autonomous "entities" has hindered the development of a single market. Substantial progress has been made in economic reforms in many countries since the 1990s. Fiscal and monetary austerity, with the assistance of international financial institutions, permitted many countries to avoid hyperinflation and stabilize their currencies. The countries of the region embarked on the privatization of their industries. However, the process remains incomplete and there have been concerns within these countries and among foreign investors about corruption and a lack of transparency in some deals. High unemployment and poverty are serious problems in all of the countries of the region. Until the global economic crisis, the countries of the region experienced substantial economic growth and increases in real wages. They also attracted increasing foreign investment, although totals remain low when compared to those of central European countries that joined the EU in 2004. Croatia has been particularly successful in economic reform and in attracting foreign investment, and expects to join the EU in 2011.