Carrot and stick: Carl Bildt says "Balkans is different - but remember what Princip triggered"

European leaders have an obvious choice in the Balkans - either deal with the problem, or wait for it to deal with them, says Carl Bildt.

The former special EU envoy to Bosnia-Herzegovina proposes, in an op-ed published on the Project Syndicate website, accelerating EU enlargement and integration, and "replicating the EU Eastern Partnership, with the creation of a Balkan Partnership, while always keeping membership on the table."

The article, published under the headline, "Keeping the Balkan Ghosts at Bay," that the EU needs to step up its political engagement in the region and can start by mediating "outstanding minor border disputes, so that these are not left to fester."

"For Europe, the only way forward is to assert its powers of containment, while also accelerating European integration. To address the emerging risks in the Balkans, the EU should demonstrate...