"Balkan politics infected by crime"

20 October 2008
BBC Balkan analyst Misha Glenny says that the Kosovo economy is completely gripped by crime, which has “infected” the political class as well.“The Balkans are a region for the transit of illegal products from the Third World to Europe. Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia have the biggest problems with this. They are the victims of political instability,” Glenny said.

Glenny, the author of the book "McMafia", said that the “European Union and United Nations lack experience on how to enter a country with the goal of building it,” but that the EU had had a positive effect with its pressure on the legal system and courts. “It would be stupid to hold the Balkans countries outside the EU,” the analyst said. He said that the Schengen zone facilitated illegal activity, but that having borders was also better for a lot of people dealing in crime as they increased the prices of their goods.

Glenny said that modern crime networks were decentralized and were not organized by hierarchies any more, such as the Sicilian mafia was for instance. “There is no longer a system of godfathers with absolute loyalty and family structures. Networks are formed depending on the product. Partners are sought based on what they wish to smuggle at the time,” Glenny said.