The government leaders were informed about the state of play by High Representative Federica Mogherini who visited the Western Balkans early March. The European Council discussed the Western Balkans at its meeting of the 9 th of March 2017 and mentioned – somewhat less alarmistic than the American dignitary – in its conclusions the ‘fragile situation in the region which it will keep under review’. The poor state of the local economies and a clear lack of perspective create migratory pressures. The region is an important factor when it comes to controlling refugee flows. Of course, coping with these conflicts is first of all the responsibility of the peoples of the Western Balkans themselves, but the international community, and especially the EU, would make a grave mistake by not getting more involved since there are evident dangers for Europe as a whole. The situation even seems to be getting worse, with strong political polarisation in most of the countries and the growing nationalist sentiment that pits groups and countries against one another. Many years after the local wars ended the Western Balkans is still not out of the danger zone. At an international conference the German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in the same vein expressed his concern about the problematic situation in the area. US senator John McCain remarked after a recent visit to the Western Balkans that his country and Europe need to engage in the region in order to prevent the simmering tensions from boiling over into full conflict. Will the region again become the tinderbox it was not so long ago? New players such as Russia and Turkey are increasing their presence. Much needed reforms are delayed and the EU accession process has lost momentum. While the EU is coping with serious internal problems such as Brexit and is very much occupied by a series of important national elections, the situation in the Western Balkans is deteriorating, with growing tensions in and between countries of the region.
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