One of the many areas that the Conservative Party took a very different line from Labour
was on the Western Balkans. William Hague travelled to the region, frequently asked questions in Parliament and had the war-torn region written into the Coalition Agreement as a government
priority.
Seven months into the government’s mandate, how has Britain’s Balkan policy changed? How has Britain been able to affect things for the better?
The answer is a tad disappointing. There are no more British soldiers or diplomats in the region than there were before the election. Reconstruction funds are slated to decrease. At the Sarajevo Summit earlier this year, the Foreign Secretary had the choice to push for a more forward-leaning EU position to encourage the region to reform – but did not go out of his way to do so.
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