The belief in a united Europe was so strong at the beginning of the 21st century that in 2003, just four years after the end of the war in Kosovo, the Western Balkan countries were offered the prospect of eventually becoming EU member states. Within a decade, there was little remaining confidence in the idea. What began with the bankruptcy of the global financial firm Lehman Brothers was followed by the economic collapse of entire nations. The European Union itself threatened to break up, and expansion was out of the question. After Croatia's EU accession in 2013, there was a halt to the notion of adding new members.
[–] Kattie [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago