Tough Love: The European Union’s Relations with the Western Balkans - Hardcover

'A reference point for any research on the EU strategy in the region.' Pamela Luckau, Humboldt Universität Berlin

'This study's main contribution lies in its comprehensive account of the evolution of EU engagement in the region. Readers looking for detailed analyses of the (country-specific) effects of conditionality, the integration-stabilisation dilemma or the EU's performance as a security actor in the Balkans and beyond, best view the present work as a very useful starting point from which to explore these individual questions.' Eva Gross, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

As part of the international presence in the Western Balkans, the EU adopted sanctions, brokered political agreements, launched its first police and military missions and directed economic, legal and administrative reforms to eradicate the root causes of instability. Yet, despite the comprehensive nature of the EU's involvement, its strategies have been marked by confusion, its actions by concurrent or competing mandates of other international organisations. Steven Blockmans presents legal and political methods of restructuring the international effort in the region, arguing that, under the leadership of the EU, only a 'tough love' strategy based on the application of the conditionality principle can lead to the integration of the Western Balkans into the European mainstream. Academics, practitioners, civil servants and students working in international law, EU law and the law of international organisations, and those engaged in relations with the EU and the Western Balkans, will find this book a valuable tool.