From the Balkans to Brussels: Nationalism Pushes Europe to the Edge

Simply turning on the TV to watch the news has become a daunting task. Far-right extremism is gaining momentum across Europe and beyond, slowly contaminating the impressionable minds of social media scrollers and all parts of civil society: young or old, left or right, with democracy left to pay the price.

Europe has taken a hit. Its once unstoppable march toward a unified, integrated continent is now seems to be crumbling back into a chorus of individual nations, clamoring for recognition. As the remnants of a collective identity are scraped away, the spotlight shifts towards the voices of ethno-nationalism, ready to sing their old, deadly songs.

Inside and out, security threats are closing up on the continent’s borders, turning around it, searching, as if the famished wolves were ready to attack. War is close: the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has forced Brussels to fundamentally rethink its approach to EU enlargement. The Union is looking at Eastern regions, whose stability has suddenly become strategically vital to Europe’s own security (Lippert, 2024).

In 2023, the EU introduced a new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, offering gradual integration into its single market and advancing the creation of a Common Regional Market (CRM). This has allowed freer movement of goods, labour, and capital across a region that has been on the EU’s radar since the end of the Yugoslav wars in the early 2000s (EEAS, 2025). This Growth Plan represents the first time that certain economic advantages of the EU membership are extended before formal accession (Euractiv, 2025). Yet, even as Brussels holds out its hand to these candidate countries, domestic political tensions threaten to undermine the initiative.

Recurring ethno-national conflicts have defined the Balkan region since the beginning of the 20th century. The turmoil is driven by a complex mix of competing interests, aspirations, policies, and historical grievances among its fragmented states. Over time, the Balkans came to symbolize fragmentation itself, giving rise to the term “balkanization”, used globally to describe a region or entity torn apart and stripped of any unifying cohesion (Pantev, 2003).

European Parliament. Photo by Angel Bena on Pexels78/

Nowadays, the legacy of the Yugoslav wars still rings with calls for revolution among its peoples. Ethno-national tensions are re-emerging in Croatia and Serbia, particularly among ethnic minorities, with Croatia increasingly positioning itself as a potential obstacle to Serbia’s further integration into the EU (Tesija, 2024). A proud member of the Union since 2013, Croatia has recently advanced its own integration by joining the Eurozone in January 2023, setting a precedent for neighboring states (Walker, 2023). Yet, increasing political turbulence risks undermining the progress and discrediting the EU.

Dangerous nationalist sentiments are resurfacing, echoing slogans and rhetoric from the fascist Ustaše regime, once thought to be buried in the past. Conservative politicians are giving these voices a platform and legitimacy, effectively inviting them to orchestrate the chaos (Petsinis, 2025).

Last July, Zagreb became the stage for the neofascist revival of the legendary Woodstock concerts of the 1970s. Folk-rock icon Marko Perković, known by his stage name “Thompson” (named after the American machine gun), drew nearly half a million fans at the heart of the capital. Banned from performing in several countries for his open admiration of the WWII Ustaše regime, he opened with his most infamous song, beginning with the banned Ustaša salute: “Za Dom, Spremni” / “For the Homeland, Ready” (AFP, 2025). The crowd, made up of fans dressed in black T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan, as well as Croatia’s current Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, and several of his ministers, roared back in unison. (Delauney, 2025).

It is one thing for extremist groups to rally in public to shout their ideology at brick walls, but when the government joins in, it becomes a whole other issue of normalizing far-right, nationalist discourse. The spectacle did not escape international attention, and it certainly did not go unnoticed in neighboring Serbia.

In response to this nationalist outcry, Serbian National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabić sharply criticized the EU’s commitment to the “rule of law”. She accused Brussels of ignoring obvious fascist manifestations in Croatia and failing to confront the country’s tolerance of such symbols and rhetoric, in direct contradiction to its stated values (EUalive, 2025). Although the EU has no specific legislation against fascism, one of its core values remains the respect for the rule of law, which entails safeguarding democracy and citizens’ rights through independent courts (European Commission, n.d). Brussels’ apparent inaction in the face of rising fascist sentiment in Croatia and Serbia’s resulting accusations of democratic backsliding and discrimination risk intensifying tensions between the two states.

As Serbia plunges deeper into political turmoil, with mass protests ongoing since November 2024, the country faces a de facto capture of both state and media: institutions are subordinated, independent journalism stifled, and the judiciary brought under control (Milivojevic, 2025). Meanwhile, European capitals remain disturbingly passive, turning a blind eye in the name of a regional stability that has long since become illusory (Couteau, 2025). This inaction, combined with accusations of the EU tolerating the resurgence of Croatian fascism, is eroding confidence not only in the Union’s enlargement strategy but in the EU itself as a unifying force.

The message is now clear: in a world growing increasingly insecure, with threats of war gnawing at Europe from all sides, and the internal spread of extreme-nationalist discourse, inaction is no longer acceptable. If Brussels does not start taking determined steps to hold its member states accountable, the Union risks being consumed from the outside or crumbling from within.

Bibliography

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11. Tesija, V. (2024, December 25). Croatia in 2024: Rightward shift worries Serb minority. Balkan Insight.https://balkaninsight.com/2024/12/24/croatia-in-2024-rightward-shift-worries-serb-minority/

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