In the Balkans, the EU offers the balm of membership to heal the trauma of the Yugoslav wars.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Dozens of books have come out about the Yugoslav wars but there must be plenty of readers who deep down are still baffled as to why Yugoslavs did this to themselves.

ECONOMIST: The Yugoslav war

Momcilo Perisic, who commanded the Yugoslav army during the wars in Bosnia and Croatia, was found guilty after a trial in 2011.

BBC: Momcilo Perisic at the Hague

So far, Macedonia has been careful to stay out of the wars of the Yugoslav succession.

ECONOMIST: The Macedonian exit route

This is the first time since the wars of the Yugoslav succession began that a big Balkan initiative has had no serious American involvement.

ECONOMIST: Working out the world

Serbia, which has surged economically since the end of its bitter wars with other former Yugoslav nations a decade ago, boasts a debt-to-gross domestic product ratio of 51%, well below Western European averages.

WSJ: Tiny Countries' Markets Are Looking Good

The law enabling the authorities to send people accused of atrocities during the Balkan wars of the 1990s to The Hague was adopted by the Yugoslav parliament earlier this month, but the issue remains hugely controversial in Serbia, where many believe the international court is biased.

BBC: War crimes suspects agree surrender