Looking for the EU in the Balkans

A senior EU diplomat once used the famous phrase: "You cannot see the wood for the trees" to describe the presence of the European Union in the Western Balkans.

Whenever the question 'What is the EU doing in the Western Balkans' was asked, the answer from the various EU institutions would come in written form, detailing several different missions and the exact figures on financial assistance.

But on the ground, the EU is not visible. And it is still very difficult for it to prov...