European thinking? Justice?

04Jun08

One of the themes related to the so called Balkan studies is the exclusion of the Balkan from the rest of the Europe and the marginalization of the region. Although countries like Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania geographically belongs to the Europe, current EU politic leads to the exclusion of those countries. Just Slovenia and Croatia has managed to get closer (or to join) Europe, and now inhabitants of these countries tend to separate themselves or juxtapose to other Balkan nations…

One of the main conditions that isolates Balkan countries from the rest of Europe is the requirement for visas to travel within Europe. In the union of states where one of the basic principles is the free flow of goods and people, free movement for the people coming from SEE is restricted, more complicated and much more expensive, especially if we consider the much lower income here. I think that we often even do not realize how big value is this our possibility to move freely: without invitation letters, waiting in rows, police checks, planning and waiting for months. It is not really fair to move back some countries in their development by setting restrictions for the free movement. In such situation ideas about united Europe, European values etc. coming from EU propaganda, is just rhetorics without any connection with the reality.

And which are those European values and European citizenship which EU youth programs and activities try to establish now? It seems that Balkan lifestyle, traditions, habits, rules and way of thinking is very far from that what we understand as European way of thinking and living. But is Europe really just Christianity, tolerance and rule of Law? Isn’t really, for example, Islam also a part of the European culture?

In the cities like Skopje there are a lot of signs from the past: buildings evidence about Ottoman times, belonging to Muslim culture, belonging to the orthodox culture; division of the city in the Macedonian and in the Albanian parts tell about unsolved conflicts… and over this all – too much looking back into history. Among the remains of the past in the city there are no signs of the future. After the collapse of the socialism in Europe starting point for Macedonia was pretty much similar to the one of Latvia. But unsolved historical conflicts and looking back in history, etnical problems, perhaps also hundreds of different other factors determined that Macedonia is still stuck there where we were ten years ago.

Who could explain me what is this European society, European culture and future vision of united Europe to which we are moving now? Where are we going actually? Looking at history and not in the future, etnical intolerance and prejudices is not really part of this European culture, but it is a part of the European reality. More visible in Balkan, but existing not only there. Can Balkan countries become a part of the Europe while towns are divided in etnical parts by river lines and thinking is not at all open-minded? And from the other side is it a good idea to try to adjust Balkan nations to the European understanding about values and European way of living? Nobody has proved that it is the best available.

It is strange that current borders of EU are demarcated in the way that still excludes part of the Europe. People outside SEE know this region very bad. Meantime it is still so explosive… people are still holding guns at their houses, pupils at schools believe that their peers are having guns, during the parliamentary elections without any reason armed riots take place and people are wounded and killed. In the same time Greece which belonging to the Europe is acknowledged officially and without any doubt, puts veto for Macedonia’s accession in the NATO, thus leaving the tiny country without protection, although country has filled all requirements and several Macedonian soldiers died last autumn when coming back from the NATO mission in Bosnia. Is this action of Greece also an example of the European thinking and European values?

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