EU Accession Negotiations and Strategic Approach to the Prosecution of War Crimes in the Western Balkans
Author/s: Milica Kolaković-Bojović,
Pages: 7-25
UDK: 341.48/.49(497-15)
327.39(4-672EU:497-15)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47152/rkkp.62.3.1
Abstract: Overloaded by the 1990s’ armed conflicts’ “ballast from the past” the Western Balkans states are still struggling to manage their EU Accession agendas, whose Chapter 23 “list of issues” includes, in addition to the standard judiciary, anticorruption and fundamental rights, also the challenge to address war crimes committed in 1990s. Despite visible differences in terms of the extent to which those countries have been affected by the armed conflicts as well as the gravity of their consequences, the European Commission keeps pushing for a strategic approach to the prosecution of war crimes, including enhancing the protection and support for war crime victims and clarifying the fate of persons went missing and/or disappeared in/or in connection to armed conflicts. However, the quality and comprehensiveness of such an approach varies to the great extent among the Western Balkans states, intensifying in the periods of intensive EU accession reform agenda, followed by periods of passivation after achieving some progress on EU part. This speaks itself to what extent EU accession processes can contribute to the transitional justice processes in Western Balkans. Preopterećene „balastom iz prošlosti“ oružanih sukoba iz 1990-ih, države zapadnog Balkana i dalje se bore da upravljaju svojim programima pristupanja EU, čija „lista pitanja“ u poglavlju 23 uključuje, pored standardnog pravosuđa, borbe protiv korupcije i osnovnih prava, takođe uključuje i izazove rešavanja predmeta ratnih zločina počinjenih 1990-ih. Uprkos vidljivim razlikama u pogledu stepena do kojeg su te zemlje pogođene oružanim sukobima, kao i težine njihovih posledica, Evropska komisija nastavlja da insistira na strateškom pristupu procesuiranju ratnih zločina, uključujući jačanje zaštite i podrške za žrtve ratnih zločina i rešavanje sudbine (prisilno) nestalih lica u/ili u vezi sa oružanim sukobima. Međutim, kvalitet i sveobuhvatnost ovakvog pristupa u velikoj meri varira među državama Zapadnog Balkana, intenzivirajući se u periodima intenzivne reformske agende pristupanja EU, praćenim periodima pasivizacije nakon postizanja određenog napretka na EU putu. To samo po sebi govori u kojoj meri procesi pristupanja EU mogu doprineti procesima tranzicione pravde na Zapadnom Balkanu.
Keywords: war crimes, victims, EU accession, Chapter 23, policy planning and evaluation, Western Balkans / ratni zločini, žrtve, zapadni Balkan, EU pristupni pregovori, Poglavlje 23, planiranje i evaluacja javnih politika,
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