Even as European Union leaders yammer about resurrecting their constitution, their attention this year may end up focusing instead on the Balkans. Twice in the past 15 years, the region has tested the eu's claims to have ended wars on the continent: in 1991-92, when eu members split over backing independence for Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia, and in 1998 when they stood by as Serbs and Albanians slaughtered each other in Kosovo. Now three events are coming together to turn the first half of 2006 into a third chance for the eu—and perhaps the trickiest period in the Balkans for some years.
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