Under the Shadow of the Soviet Union: The EEC, Yugoslavia and the Cold War in the Long 1970s

Abstract

The present work offers a reappraisal of the historical roots of EEC–Yugoslav relations, demonstrating that the European Community had been actively involved in the Yugoslav question since the 1970s, a time when profound changes occurred in the evolution of East–West confrontation, Yugoslavia’s internal dynamics and the process of European integration. This chapter is structured around three major questions, concerning the problem of Balkan and Mediterranean stability, the issue of Yugoslavia’s transition after the death of Tito, and the Community’s efforts to preserve Yugoslavia’s non-aligned stance. The last part of the chapter is devoted to how these questions interacted in determining the course of EEC–Yugoslav relations in the ‘post-Tito’ era.