Yugoslavia was dismembered by the EU. Why does Serbia still apply to join the EU?

The former Yugoslavia, once known as the Tiger of the Balkans, split into seven countries after ten years of civil war. Its main successor, Serbia, has also been reduced to a small inland mountainous country with a total area of ??80,000 kilometers and a population of only 6 million. It no longer has the charm of the past.

The main reason for the disintegration of Yugoslavia was the internal conflicts among the domestic ethnic groups. However, the main culprits in provoking these ethnic conflicts are the United States and European countries that are adding fuel to the flames.

If in the early days they only used ideological infiltration and stayed behind the scenes, by the time of the Kosovo War, the United States and Europe had completely torn off their masks and went into battle shirtless. They launched large-scale bombings against the already weakened Yugoslavia, completely destroying Serbia's last capital. After this war, Kosovo and Montenegro became independent, and Yugoslavia ceased to exist.

From this point of view, Serbia, the United States and the European powers have an irresponsible hatred that is close to destroying the country. They should be indifferent and look like strangers.

(Kosovo War)

But what is surprising is that just ten years later, Serbia, whose scars have not yet healed, took the initiative to show its goodwill to Europe and formally submitted an application to join. EU, why is this?

1. Serbia’s geopolitical dilemma.

If you look at it from the perspective of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia does have deep-rooted conflicts with the United States and European countries. At that time, under the rule of strongman Tito, Yugoslavia became a powerful force of its own in Southeast Europe. They not only threaten the United States' dominance of the Eastern European order, but also have historical geopolitical conflicts with Western European countries.

However, with the disintegration of Yugoslavia, independent countries have defected to the European camp. Serbia, the original main successor state, was disintegrated again after the Kosovo War and has been compressed into a small landlocked country that poses no threat. The Eastern European expansion strategy of the United States and Europe has been basically completed, and the hostility towards Serbia has naturally disappeared.

For Serbia, although the US-led NATO dismembered Yugoslavia, the space for the rise of the entire Serbian nation was compressed. But the strength has been reduced to this, and hatred cannot solve the problem of food and clothing. For the future of the nation, we must bury our resentment in our hearts and look forward for development.

After being dismembered and compressed, Serbia has no outlet to the sea and is just a small landlocked country. The surrounding fraternal countries that used to eat from the same pot have all become members of the European Union after independence. In this geographical situation, if Serbia wants to develop its economy and survive better, joining the EU seems to be the only option.

After the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the EU has successfully dominated the Balkan order. If you enter the EU camp, you can not only enjoy the mutual assistance benefits of EU member states, but also use the sea ports of neighboring countries to change the occlusion of landlocked mountainous countries. This is of great benefit to the development of the country.

(Yugoslav Civil War)

2. Switch to the EU for survival.

Speaking of which, as a former dominant country in the red camp and a Slavic nation dominated by the Orthodox Church, Serbia and Russia have had deep roots since history. During the Kosovo War, the strong support provided by Russia, which was overwhelmed by its own affairs, to Serbia was in sharp contrast to the hegemony of Europe and the United States. Now joining the European camp and standing on the opposite side of Russia is really difficult for the Serbian people to accept.

However, with the end of the Cold War, neighboring countries such as Ukraine and Georgia have turned to the West. Russia is far from being as powerful as the Soviet Union in the past. In the past, the Balkans, the frontline of the Cold War confrontation between East and West, has become the Western sphere of influence. Since Russia cannot prevent the West from entering the Balkans, it is understandable that Serbia, Russia's last strategic fulcrum in the Balkans, joins the EU in order to survive, without taking into account Russia's feelings.

(Leaders of Serbia and Russia)

3. Old hatreds have not been eliminated and new humiliations have been added.

Surrounded by EU member states and isolated from the outside world, facing the enemy that destroyed itself, Serbia, known as a fighting nation, not only cannot avenge it, but also has to bow to it in order to survive. , with a charming smile on her face, and took the initiative to throw herself into her arms. This kind of sadness, anger and helplessness is really desolate.

At that time, in order to dismember Yugoslavia, the United States and Europe tried their best to win over other ethnic groups. After Slovenia, Croatia and other countries became independent, there were few obstacles to joining the EU. After receiving economic assistance from the EU, they quickly got on the right track and developed.

It was precisely after seeing the successful resurgence of other countries after joining the EU that Serbia hid its hatred and forced a smile. It is hoped that joining the EU will break the geopolitical dilemma, alleviate the embarrassment of not having access to the sea, open up the entire European economic circle, achieve economic recovery, and remove the hat of the poorest country in Europe.

But the EU once again humiliated Serbia, which is poor and has short ambitions. They demand that Serbia recognize Kosovo's independent status as a condition for Serbia's admission to the EU.

When Kosovo broke away from Serbia due to NATO bombing, the United States and Europe immediately declared Kosovo’s independence. Although more than 100 countries in the world currently recognize Kosovo as an independent country, Serbia has never given up its territorial claims to Kosovo. Because that is the birthplace of the Serbs and the place where our ancestors rose.

Of course, Serbia flatly rejected the conditions proposed by the EU that were humiliating and humiliating.

The EU’s harshness made Serbia give up its illusion of moving closer to the west. It looked eastward again, reconciled with Russia again, and became the forward position of Russia's southward march to the Balkans and the Mediterranean.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Serbia can develop after making such a choice.