The Left Critique of the European Union: A View from the Balkan Periphery

Abstract

The Brexit has been just one practical expression of the numerous disintegrative movements that engulfed the EU. It has offered a unique opportunity for questioning the TINA principle both in the European core and its periphery. The paper aims at elaborating the Left case against the EU, and particularly the Lexit, as it is seen generally and from the position of the left-wing movements in Europe and the Balkans. The paper focuses on a few key questions: what is the meaning of ‘L/Exit’? What are the key arguments of the leftwing critique of the EU? If another (progressive) Europe is possible, where is the place of the Balkans in that new architecture? These issues have gained urgency and importance especially since the 2019 October summit of the EU when the enlargement policy has been put on hold due to the French ‘Non’ to Albania and Macedonia.