Functional Borders and Sustainable Security: Integrating the Balkans in the EU (IBEU)

1. Functional Borders and Sustainable Security: Integrating the Balkans in the EU (IBEU) Presentation for 3rd Call Kick-off Meeting 13-14 March, 2003 Brussels The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) Ruby Gropas

2. IBEU’s priorities and objectives • Objectives: • Provide insight on the changing nature of borders and security in the Balkans • Understand aspects and types of social and economic interaction within and among post-communist Balkan societies • Guiding hypotheses: • Define functionality of borders: • What are functional borders in the Balkans and what functions do they fulfill for society and the economy? • What are considered functional borders by the EU and what is the EU attempting to project into the region? • These two perspectives and approaches may be very different. • How can they be adapted and applied to work in the Balkans so as to: • Create positive social capital; restructure the informal sector; promote regional co-operation and a growth-generating migration • Integrate the Balkans into the European Union

3. IBEU’s case studies • 4 cross-border and interdisciplinary case studies on the roots, nature and inter-dependencies between: • Networks of trusted social relations and dimensions of social capital; • Informal economic transactions and behaviour of non-compliance with regulatory frameworks; • Trade flows, banking, infrastructure projects and regional co-operation; • Demand and supply driven migration: effects on home and host countries

4. RESEARCH ELEMENTSOF IBEU Integration and association as a means to create conditions for sustainable peace and economic development Cross-border co-operation; security implications and aspects of ‘border management’ Types and nature of cross-border interactions conducive to ‘region building’ and regional co-operation Contribute to an inter-disciplinary understanding of security based on civil-society building, social cohesion and institution (re)building Understand nature and mechanisms that fuel the informal sector, impact on SEE, cross-border relations and integration with EU; identify paths to reform or improve conditions for formal business RELEVANT PROJECTS EUBORDERCONF EUBORDERCONF EXLINEA ELISE INFOREC Clustering potential

5. Expected results & relevance • Expected results: • Deeper understanding of the political economy and society of the Balkans • Suggest policy recommendations towards a dynamic and inclusionary approach to borders in and with the region • Relevance: • The EU has -Invested financial, technical, human and political resources and instruments to reconstruction, stabilisation and association (SAP, CARDS, etc) that are being called to respond to the region’s challenges -Committed itself to the region’s future integration in the EU • Economic and social tensions in the region have -Immediate effect on Europe’s overall security • Direct consequences on the EU’s external borders • Understanding the roots of these challenges and supporting mechanisms is necessary to: • (Re)formulate appropriate policies for the region • Lessons learnt for future EU intervention & reconstruction (Iraq, etc.)

6. ANNEX: IBEU Consortium • Coordinator: The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) • The London School of Economics (LSE) • The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW) • Istituto per l’Europa Centro-Orientale e Balcanica, University of Bologna (IECOB) • The Institute for Market Economics, Sofia (IME) • The Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia (CLS) • The Romanian Academic Society (SAR)