Austria’s Attitude Towards the Integration of the Western Balkans with the European Union

Abstract

The article indicates the following research problems: a) what is the significance of the Western Balkans for Austria and what was Austria’s position towards the plans for the EU enlargement to include the Balkan states, b) what was the public opinion’s attitude towards the above-mentioned plans and whether it had an impact on Austria’s actions at the EU level and c) were the attitudes presented consistent and uniform with respect to all candidate countries (or having the status of potential candidate countries)? The article assumes that this region is a priority for the Austrian government in terms of expanding European integration, and this approach remains unchanged and independent of internal and external factors. It was also hypothesized that Austria had an effective influence on the EU enlargement process.