Editorial Board Dear reader, In this issue, we have tried to give answers, taking four different viewpoints(Albanian, Bosnian-Herzegovinian, Croatian and Serbian), on several questions relevant to the future of regional cooperation and accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU: how foreign policies of these countries accept the imperative requirement of good-neighbourly cooperation as a prerequisite for stronger integration processes?; What is the current status of these countries in the process of accession to the EU?; What are they doing in the area of regional cooperation and good-neighbourly relations?; and finally, what is the attitude of the public at large and political elites vis à vis regional and European integration processes? If we are to try to find a link that connects all the essays included in this issue and work out what is their common denominator, it would definitely be the undoubted pro-European orientation of public opinion, although there is no equal substantial commitment to good­neighbourly cooperation shown by all parties, nor is there equal readiness to introduce European standards. To say that their foreign policy is sometimes just a paler shade of their internal petty politics is to say nothing new. In this respect, the Balkans has become an exceptionally persistent example of declaratory commitment to European standards and ideals that are not always substantiated with genuine efforts. All the four analyses detect some systemic weaknesses, which can be defined as the hesitation of the political elites to build a more efficient and more transparent system. However, there is no doubt, and this could be one of the conclusions of this whole issue, that the Balkan countries have recognised and want to use to the maximum the opportunity offered to them by the EU enlargement policy. It imposes on them a completely different imperative of cooperation and competition over European standards, while, at the same time, it deprives historical antagonisms over territories and identities of their relevance. However, as it is indicated in the analyses included in this issue of our magazine, the embracing of this idea requires a commitment that goes beyond the declaratory. It requires much more than taking pride in one’s own superiority vis à vis one’s inferior neighbours; mutual kicking under the great Brussels Table. The Western Balkans today needs visionary politicians capable of becoming united around joint interests without any hidden agenda. The animosities of the Balkans are not more primitive than those that once used to mark the relations between France and Germany. The only difference is that the French and the Germans have finally learnt the lesson learning from their own mistakes. Editorial Board Foreign Policy Review-godina 3, broj 3 105