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Western Balkans | 73Men wave EU and Macedonian flags in front of the Macedonian governmentbuilding in Skopje, 14 October 2009.The mission in Belgrade has also become heavilyinvolved in reforming Serbia’s police, and it hasa number of offices around the country focused onthis task. Since 2006, it has been intimately involvedin the creation of a new basic policy training schoolin Sremska Kamenica, and plays a role in effortsto combat organized crime, working both with theSerbian authorities and NGOs. The mission hasalso supported the government conduct war crimestrials, an initiative coordinated with similar OSCEactivities across the region (the OSCE Office inZagreb, which replaced a much more extensive missionto Croatia, has monitoring war crimes cases asit residual priority).The Mission to Serbia also maintains anoffice in the Sandjak, a Bosniak-majority area ofsouth Serbia, which has sometimes been cited as aOgnen Teofilovskipotential focus for any future ethnic tensions. Themission in Montenegro is relatively small (with 13international staff compared to 34 in Serbia) butworks in similar areas. It is also involved in a policetraining school, and supports rule of law initiativesand democratization. Significant challenges remain,especially in combating Montenegro’s organizedcrime networks.ConclusionInternational political missions remain a significantelement in the governance of countries in t<strong>here</strong>gion. They are also involved in cross-regionalinitiatives on problems such as remaining refugeecommunities. How long will this last? Some Balkangovernments believe that they will not be able tomove towards EU membership while still hostingOSCE presences. However, the region’s progresstowards the EU is likely to remain uncertain – onlyCroatia is on track for membership in the Union inthe near term.Moreover, tensions in BiH, FYROM and northKosovo have convinced many outside policy-makersthat it would be a mistake to cut back the internationalpresence in the region too soon. It is possiblethat the EU’s ongoing overhaul of its institutionalpresence across the Balkans will create a new frameworkfor stability. Regardless, much work remains.notes1 The Peace Implementation Council is charged with implementing the Dayton Peace Agreement.2 The heads of these missions report directly to Brussels, although the EUSR is mandated to give them politicalguidance.3 Miroslav Lajčák, “Press conference by the High Representative Miroslav Lajčák following the PeaceImplementation Council Steering Board session in Brussels,” 27 February 2008, http://www.ohr.int/ohr-dept/presso/pressb/default.asp?content_id=41353.4 The non-recognizing members of the EU are Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain.5 The conference followed the EU’s “gymnich” format, which involves private meetings and no final statementapproved by all participants.6 “Kosovo bank leader arrested in corruption probe.” CNN, 23 July 2010, http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/07/23/kosovo.corruption.arrest/index.html.