International Conference: Current Security Challenges for the Western Balkan Region Addressed by Means of Joint Responsibility and Cooperation I can only assume that the EU will apply the though Turkey(Bosniak dominated parts of same scenario in relationship with other Bosnia, Albanian parts of Macedonia, Kosovo) candidate states where nding the solution to and Russia(Serbia, Republika Srpska in Bosnia, the issues of unresolved territorial conict are Macedonia) target different client states, their part and parcel of the European integration role as potential“patrons” in the region revolves process(Bosnia-Herzegovina; Macedonia; around the model that is already rmly Kosovo). established in the region: political system of BUSINESS AS USUAL? competitive authoritarianism, trade and economic deals oiled through the shady The key unnished business of the European contracts, and the strong presence of the Union is in changing the very ideal, model and populist leaders(Serbia, Macedonia, practices of the Balkan nation-state towards Montenegro). Thus, the EU is currently not only embracing the European model of pooled facing the challenges of problematic state and sovereignty, open borders and societal nation building in the region, but also integration(on the region's experiences with increasingly less friendly competition with Europeanization, see Table 2). And, the central Turkey and open conict with Russia. How these challenge for the EU in the next period is to conicts are going to play out with each other 95 continue pulling away moderate nationalists from the region's traditional practices of nation will to a great extent decide the outcomes of the European integration in the region as well. On building. Two crucial tests for the EU's top of this list of the EU challenges is what Ivan attractiveness and broader European appeal in Krastev has identied as a problem of the the eyes of moderate nationalists will be the societal acceptance of the EU norms and values level of readiness among Serbian and Kosovar in the region. Twenty years of a direct politicians to follow through the Brussels engagement in the Western Balkans have taught Agreement, on the one side, and Bosnian and the European ofcials two lessons(at least, I am Macedonian politicians nally to move their hoping that they learned those lessons): countries forward, on the other. However, I am afraid that there is not a clear formula or 1. Transforming the elites is not the same as understanding as how to achieve the required transforming the society, and 2. EU power of change. attraction is inversely proportional to the EU power of transformation, the latter being the In situation of an increasing international weaker one. Under those conditions, a uncertainty, it is doubtful that the EU's approach slowpoke, case-by-case approach can only of slowly“normalizing” Balkan states into the continue to strengthen the process of simulated European standards will work. If only three Europeanization in the region. This process is years ago, the EU Institute For Security Studies based on local leaders' appropriation of the Report could boldly proclaim that the EU is Europeanization discourse in the external affairs, unchallenged international actor in the region, on the one side, and the continuation of old nowadays no one can deny the signicant practices of keeping informal networks of power presence of two strong competitors for the untouched while doing little to address the region's inuence – Turkey and Russia. Even Internal, domestic issues of failed economies