Yugoslavia–European Communities relations
![]() | |
![]() European Economic Community |
![]() Yugoslavia |
---|
From the establishment of the European Economic Community (later expanded into the European Union) in 1957 until the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, thus during the Cold War period, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the first socialist state to develop relations with the organisation. Notwithstanding occasional and informal proposals coming from both sides, Yugoslavia never became a full member state of the EEC.
The EEC, and later EU, would cite the breakup of Yugoslavia as a reason for existential guilt in not having averted the humanitarian crisis on adjacent territory, and this served as a springboard for the creation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy.[1]
Mutual interactions between the two sides intensified in the late 1980s and early 1990s but all progress was cut off as of 25 November 1991 due to the
History
1948–1967
After the 1948
1968–1987
Due to developed economic relations and the large expat community, relations with West Germany played a particularly important role in the set of Yugoslav bilateral relations with the EEC member states. Formal bilateral relations between Yugoslavia and West Germany were canceled in accordance to the Hallstein Doctrine after the 1957 Yugoslav recognition of East Germany limiting relations almost exclusively to the economics field.[5] In 1965 expert negotiations with EEC began as well as talks on extent of future economic cooperation and potential trade exchange.[3] Relations were reestablished after the election of Willy Brandt and his 1968 visit to Yugoslavia within his Ostpolitik efforts.[5] Tito and Brandt discussed war reparations leading to the creation of the so-called Brioni Formula focused on development aid and loans under highly generous conditions instead of formal reparations.[5] This formula enabled Yugoslavia to receive up to 1 billion Deutsche Mark and was subsequently used with Poland.[5] Belgrade expressed its dissatisfaction with the unequal treatment of numerous Yugoslav workers in Germany compared to Italian, Spanish and Turkish workers, and with the activities of nationalist emigration groups.[5] There was also dissatisfaction with some of the ceremonial aspect of Ostpolitik in which the Socialist Republic of Romania normalized its relations with West Germany before Yugoslavia and in which famous 1970 Kniefall von Warschau in Warsaw was not followed by similar gesture to victims of the Kragujevac massacre during his second visit to Yugoslavia in 1973.[5] Despite some inherent tensions, the focus of renewed bilateral relations was on international relations including the crises in the Middle East and Vietnam, Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and Détente in Europe and activities of the Non-Aligned Movement.[5]
Already in 1967 the formal Declaration on the relations between SFR Yugoslavia and the EEC was signed.[3] In 1969, after the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Permanent Mission of the SFRY to the EEC has been opened.[6] In 1977 the EEC granted access to the European Investment Bank to Yugoslavia.[2] During the 1977-1978 Belgrade was the host city of the first follow-up meeting of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.[7] By 1980 European Investment Bank granted two loans in total value of 50 million of ECUs to link the Yugoslav high-voltage electricity distribution network to the Greek and Italian grids and for the construction of part of the trans-Yugoslav road.[2]
In 1978, the European Community and Yugoslavia began negotiations on a Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in April 1980 and entered into force in April 1983.
1988–1992
On 8 June 1988, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Budimir Lončar said to the members of collective Presidency of Yugoslavia that there are significant integration processes going on in Europe and
In May 1991 EC President
Recognition of newly independent former Yugoslav republics
After initial efforts to ensure the preservation of the Yugoslav federation the Community adopted two consequential policy changing documents known as the "Guidelines for the recognition of new states in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union" of 16 December 1991 and the "Common Position for the recognition of the Yugoslav Republics" of 17 December 1991.
Post-Yugoslavia developments
The former Yugoslav constituent republics of Slovenia (2004) and Croatia (2013) have joined the European Union as independent states, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro have been negotiating their accession since 2020, 2012 and 2010 respectively. Bosnia and Herzegovina applied in 2016, and was granted candidate status in 2022.[13] Partially recognised Kosovo is recognised as a potential candidate for membership and formally applied to join the EU in 2022.[14] Numerous politicians, academics, and public persons commented on the alleged missed opportunity of Yugoslav EEC membership, including Stjepan Mesić,[15] Kiro Gligorov,[16] Milorad Dodik,[17] Tvrtko Jakovina,[6] Claudio Gerardini,[18] Vuk Drašković,[19] Vladislav Jovanović,[20] and Cornelius Adebahr.[21]
See also
- Group of Nine
- Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union
- Accession of Croatia to the European Union
- Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union
- Accession of Montenegro to the European Union
- Accession of Kosovo to the European Union
- Accession of Slovenia to the European Union
- Accession of Serbia to the European Union
- European Union Association Agreement
Pre-1957 History
- Percentages agreement
- Tito–Stalin Split
- Paasikivi–Kekkonen doctrine
Related concepts and events
- European Neighbourhood Policy
- Inner Six
- Ostpolitik
- The Alps-Adriatic Working Group
- Yugoslavia and the Non-Aligned Movement
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-969272-9.
- ^ a b c d e "EEC-Yugoslavia Cooperation Council; European Commission Press Releases Database ninth session of the EEC-Yugoslavia Cooperation Council". European Commission. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Đukanović, Dragan. "SFR Jugoslavija i Evropska ekonomska zajednica: od uspešne saradnje i potencijalnog članstva do suspenzije svih sporazuma". Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d Milutin Tomanović (1965) Hronika međunarodnih događaja 1964, Institute of International Politics and Economics, p254 (in Serbo-Croatian)
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-89970-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jakovina, Tvrtko. "TVRTKO JAKOVINA Hrvatska je mogla ući u Europu još 1989". Jutarnji list. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ISBN 978-3-89971-938-3.
- ^ JSTOR 40395227.
- ^ a b c d Riding, Alan. "Conflict in Yugoslavia; EUROPEANS SEND HIGH--LEVEL TEAM". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ a b Nuttall, Simon (August 1994). "The EC and Yugoslavia – Deus ex Machina or Machina sine Deo?". Journal of Common Market Studies. 32: 11–25.
- ^ a b c Sioussiouras, Petros (2004). "The Prosess of Recognition of the Newly Independent States of Former Yugoslavia by the European Community: The Case of the Former Socialist Republic of Macedonia". Journal of Political & Military Sociology. 32 (1): 1–18.
- ^ .
- ^ "'Huge, historic move': EU grants Bosnia and Herzegovina Candidate Status". Sarajevo Times. 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ "Kosovo formally applies to join EU". Reuters. 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ "Jugoslavija je mogla ući u EU da Milošević nije htio veliku Srbiju". Vijesti.ba. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ "Zašto je bivša SFRJ odbila ponudu za brzi ulazak u EU i 5 milijardi pomoći, a šta su želeli MILOŠEVIĆ I TUĐMAN". Blic. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ "Dodik: Jugoslavija mogla da bude u EU". Radio Television of Serbia. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ "DVIJE VELIKE GREŠKE EUROPE: 'Da je Jugoslavija 1990. primljena u Europsku uniju, ne bi se prolijevala krv'". Net.hr. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ "Drašković: Tko je kriv za raspad Jugoslavije". Dnevni list. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ "Jugoslavija bi već bila članica EU". Politika. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- Carnegie Europe. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
Further reading
- Zaccaria, B. (2016). The EEC's Yugoslav Policy in Cold War Europe, 1968-1980. Palgrave Macmillan. London.