Economic Perspectives Regarding the European Integration in the Balkan Region

Versiunea acestei lucrări în limba română poate fi găsită la: 'http://ssrn.com/abstract=2597283' http://ssrn.com/abstract=2597283After the Soviet domination collapse in the Eastern Europe, the countries from the Balkans, with the exception of Greece and Turkey, entered into a quite long period of economic and politic instability. The difficulties of the transition to the market economy, the ethnic, religious and social tensions, and the wars from the former Yugoslavia made that almost the whole Balkan region to be perceived as an unfavorable zone for honest business. From this reason, the chances of the European Union enlargement process in the Balkan area seemed quite reduced. However, step-by-step, the economic reforms progress and the social, religious and ethnic conflicts solving gave an impulse to the national economies recovery and to the politic systems consolidation. After the politic, social and economic stability setting up, some former socialist countries from the Balkans began to be considered as an attractive destination for the foreign direct investments and as candidates with real chances for the adhesion to the European Union. Slovenia took part in the first enlargement towards the east, while Romania and Bulgaria were in the second enlargement. Although in the present the European Union enlargement process evolution is difficult to foresee, the possibility of other Balkan countries adhesion must not be neglected. In this paper we will approach, from an economic perspective, some circumstances of the European Union enlargement process in the Balkans. We will analyze both some significant obstacles in the way of this process and the modalities of surpassing them