Συνέχεια και αλλαγή στην ελληνική εξωτερική πολιτική προς τα Δυτικά Βαλκάνια μετά το ξέσπασμα της οικονομικής κρίσης

Abstract

This paper examines an empirical problem, whether the economic crisis and the new economic and political context it shaped for Greece from 2009 onwards affected Greek foreign policy towards the Western Balkans and at what points. To this purpose, Greek foreign policy towards the Western Balkans is examined comparatively in the time periods before and after the outbreak of the economic crisis, with emphasis on the latter. The period before the economic crisis is considered to be from the mid-1990’s to 2008, because then Greek foreign policy towards the Western Balkans had acquired and had been governed by certain continuity characteristics, and the period after the economic crisis is considered to be from 2009 to the current time, the beginning of 2020. Greek foreign policy towards the Western Balkans is examined on the basis of four main axes that govern it, namely bilateral relations with the Western Balkans countries, Balkan regional cooperation, the European perspective of the Western Balkans and the Greek economic presence in the region. The research is based on primary sources and secondary literature. The main finding is that the period of the economic crisis did not affect the basic choices of Greek foreign policy for the Western Balkans and the official Greek positions, as they were formed in the pre-crisis period. However, the new context of the economic crisis has negatively affected Greece’s regional role at different levels, firstly with the deterioration of bilateral relations, secondly with the negative impact on Greek exports and especially on investments in strategic sectors and thirdly with the deterioration of Greece’s role in promoting the European course of the Western Balkans and in regional developments. Nevertheless, upgrading the country’s role in the region has been gradually pursued through active efforts to resolve bilateral issues, including the Prespa Agreement, and efforts to promote regional cooperation, while the negative impact on Greek exports was also reversed.