Serbia, ostensibly still a candidate for EU membership, is buying Russian aircraft and tanks. far from imposing western sanctions, President Vucic just signed a three-year gas deal with Moscow. Now he is promoting separate institutions for the “protection” of the Serb minority in Kosovo. Vucic, we must remember, was Milosevic’s information minister. The latest border flare-up, over signs and identity cards, is straight out of Milošević’s playbook. Border disputes, fueled by “black businesses” can very easily escalate into a wider conflict. Four years ago, after visiting Mariupol, I warned about the vulnerability of eastern Ukraine. The West did too little, too late, rejecting Ukraine as a candidate for EU membership. NATO members refused to supply the weapons needed for proper defense. The European Investment Bank has failed to support the leftist regions of Ukraine. Russia has been allowed to choke trade in the Sea of Azov, with little disapproval from Brussels. In the Balkans we make the same mistakes. Countries like Serbia have been granted ‘membership’ status, but with no real prospect of joining the EU any time soon: opinion polls in Belgrade now show public opinion moving against them. The EU gives leaders like Vucic all the respect, but does nothing to help build stronger political institutions or signal a departure from democratic norms. The West does not seem to stand up for the values it claims to stand for. State-sponsored media are allowed to wrest free press and fuller political responsibility. Whatever it takes to push Putin back in Ukraine, we should learn these lessons. New democracies need more than a waiting room: the EU must offer direct intermediary access to its markets and structural funds. Candidate status would provide better protection to Montenegro, Kosovo and BiH. Weak judicial and legal systems need strengthening. We should increase NATO’s presence there and make it clear that the constitutional and territorial integrity of these countries matters to us all. Britain also has a big role to play. We should strengthen our diplomatic and military presence in both Kosovo and BiH. We already have our own former defense chief, air chief Sir Stuart Peach, as Special Envoy. As well as helping to tackle serious crime and security, it has a wider mission to strengthen civil society and democratic institutions: we need to give it the resources it needs. The Balkan wars complete the 20th century. Putin and Russia have not forgotten how they were humiliated by the standoff at Pristina airport during the last one. If Serbia chooses to escalate further, it will certainly have Russian support. Putin has already tried to destabilize the region: six years ago a Russian-backed coup attempted to stop Montenegro from joining NATO. That was thwarted, but Russia has not lost interest. Win or lose Ukraine, Putin does not want to see more countries gain the West’s official protection. So once again, our Western values – free elections, open media, accountable government, independent judiciary – are on the line. We should not make the mistake of assuming that these are only compatible with full membership in either the EU or NATO. Instead, we should reach beyond our walls: making it easier and faster for applicants to join and better motivated to do so. In the past, Europe found a way to reconcile the bitterest ethnic and religious divisions and successfully exported this system of democracy around the world. Now back on our own continent, we have seen democracy come under missile attack in Kyiv. Thousands were slaughtered in the last Balkan conflict. Do we really need to see rockets raining down on Sarajevo and Pristina again before the West moves on? Sir Michael Fallon was Defense Secretary from 2014 to 2017
