Chi vuole i Balcani? Come il caso della Macedonia del Nord può spiegare quali sono le sfide e le prospettive per questa regione.

The Western Balkans are in the middle of Europe, but their integration in the EU seems far from being possible. At the same time, some foreign powers are furthering their interests in this region, with many more investments and political relations. The EU remains the most important external player in the Balkans affairs, and especially the Commission is willing to work on the accession process and help the six countries to strengthen their socio-economic structures. On the other hand, within the EU some actors prefer to delay the external integration process and focus on internal problems, in particular France. Turkey, Russia and China are the foreign powers that are getting involved in this region and are improving several relationships with local leaders and businessmen, obtaining public procurements and sometimes popular support. The Balkans are a historical region that has never managed to gain a major power status, nor complete independence: since the Roman conquest to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, none of these countries succeeded in establishing a long-living state. The current external relations derive from previous dominations, with Russia and Turkey claiming their interests. Since the 90s, the EU tied close relationships with all the Balkans, and some countries eventually joined the Union, including two former Yugoslav republics, Croatia and Slovenia. But the pattern for the WB6 is longer. North Macedonia is a small state between Greece and Bulgaria, two EU countries, and Serbia, Kosovo, and Albania. After a couple of decades of difficult foreign relations, very high unemployment, and corruption, since 2016 it began its path towards a credible accession to the EU. The Prespa Agreement and other bilateral treaties, the increase of foreign direct investments and a business-friendly environment helped to overcome many economic problems. Since SDSM won the 2016 elections, the dialogue with Brussels increased, together with numerous institutional reforms. On the one other hand, corruption and weak infrastructures are a threat to the success of the accession process, that just received the green light in early 2020. What is going to happen after the COVID crisis? Is North Macedonia ready to complete the chapters needed to join the EU? It is what I am going to analyse. ​