Coopération régionale dans l'Europe du Sud-Est: Le cas de l'intégration des transports

Abstract

  Regional integration in the Western Balkans constitutes an important aspect of the countries' long process of transition and reform. Regionalism will not only help overcome lingering issues of the past, but also generate significant economic and sociopolitical effects, while paving the way for the Western Balkans' eventual adhesion to the European Union. In this arduous process, the question of transport infrastructure and transport integration constitutes an important aspect that should not be ignored. This article presents the challenges of developing a functional transport network across the Western Balkans and the benefits such a network would offer to current regional cooperation efforts. It provides an overview of the state of transport infrastructure from the early 20th century to the present, while arguing that constructing a regionally integrated transport network is a unique opportunity and a significant challenge, one which the Western Balkans need to rise up to.