European Union approaches to police and human rights in the Western Balkans

Since the 1990s the European Union (EU) has increasingly engaged with police and human rights issues in the Western Balkans. In the conflict and post-conflict context of the region, police and human rights issues are intertwined with the EU's foreign policy and internal security objectives. Three types of EU approaches can be identified: containment, intervention, integration. They reflect member states' concerns about migration (containment), the development and ambitions of the EU's external action (intervention) and the consolidation of the EU's area of justice, liberty and security (integration). These approaches are linked to three phases of dealing with the consequence of the conflicts and wars in the region, the EU's engagement in state-and member-state- building and EU accession. The EU's engagement in the area of human rights and police is based on quickly changing perceptions and policies. Despite shortcomings, the EU had a tangible impact on improving policing and the human rights situation. The article reviews developments until the end of 2014.