The lure of European Union membership is one of the most important factors driving development, reform and conciliation in the fractious Western Balkans. The Dutch vote Wednesday was a harsh blow for the region.
The Netherlands voted against an EU treaty for closer political and economic ties with Ukraine, raising immediate concerns about the chances of Western Balkan states joining the Union in the coming years.
“This vote now raises serious questions about whether the enduring peace in the Balkans will last,” Timothy Ash, an analyst at Nomura International, wrote in the Kyiv Post.
Rem Korteweg, a Dutch senior research fellow at the …read more
Source: POLITICO – Europe Edition
