Croatia has bought its ticket to Brussels, and Montenegro could be next, while Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Kosovo are stuck in a crowded, smoky waiting room.

The process of democratic consolidation in Serbia has begun in earnest. Equally important, the more virulent xenophobic and authoritarian aspects of Serbian political culture have waned considerably. … For the foreseeable future, the specious superpatriotism and discredited soft dictatorship of the Milosevic variety are likely to hold only marginal appeal.