THE BALKAN STATE

• The Balkan Peninsula is an area of southeastern Europe surrounded by water on three sides: the Adriatic Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea (including the Ionian and Aegean seas) and the Marmara Sea to the south and the Black Sea to the east.

The countries lying on the Balkan Peninsula are often called the Balkan States. These include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, and Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). The small portion of Turkey that lies northwest of the Sea of Marmara is also on the Balkan Peninsula.

BALKAN STATE MAP

ALBANIA

The history of Albania emerges from the pre-history of the Balkan states around 3000 BC, with early records of Illyria in Greco-Roman historiography. The modern territory of Albania had no counterpart in the standard political divisions of classical antiquity.

• Albania is a parliamentary republic. The country's capital, Tirana, represents its financial and industrial heartland, with a metropolitan population of almost 800,000 people out of around 2.9 million Albanians

• Free-market reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy and transportation infrastructure

• By the end of World War II, the main military and political force in the country, the communist party, sent forces to northern Albania against the nationalists to eliminate its rivals.

• The Center for Relief to Civilian Populations (Geneva) reported that Albania was one of the most devastated countries in Europe. 60,000 houses were destroyed and about 10% of the population was left homeless.[3]

• After World War II, Albania became a Stalinist state under Enver Hoxha, and remained staunchly isolationist until its transition to democracy after 1990.

Albanian Profile

• Politics: Edi Rama's Socialist Party won a landslide victory in the 2013 parliamentary election, ending eight years of conservative rule

• Economy: Albania is transforming into to a market economy, but is poor by Western European standards. Agriculture is a key sector and a major employer

• International: Albania joined Nato in 2009 and was granted EU candidate status in 2014

• Along with neighbouring and mainly Albanian-inhabited Kosovo, it has a Muslim majority - a legacy of its centuries of Ottoman rule. Approaching twenty per cent of the population are Christians, divided mainly between the Orthodox and smaller Catholic denominations.

BULGARIA

• Bulgaria is a Balkan nation with diverse terrain encompassing Black Sea coastline, rivers, including the Danube, and a mountainous interior. A cultural melting pot with Greek, Slavic, Ottoman and Persian influences, it has a rich heritage of traditional dance, music, costumes and crafts. At the foot of domed Vitosha mountain is its capital.

• The Kingdom of Bulgaria participated in World War I on the side of the Central Powers from 14 October 1915, when the country declared war on Serbia, until 30 September 1918, when the Armistice of Thessalonica was signed and came into effect.

• In the aftermath of the Balkan wars Bulgaria found itself isolated on the international scene, surrounded by hostile neighbors and deprived of the support of the Great Powers. Anti-Bulgarian sentiments were especially strong in France and Russia,

• When the First World War erupted in August 1914 Bulgaria was still recovering from the negative economic and demographic impact of the recent wars and avoided direct involvement in the new conflict by declaring neutrality.

• Despite being the smallest member of the alliance in area and population Bulgaria made vital contributions to the common war effort.

CROATIA

• Croatia is an Eastern European country with long coastlines on the Adriatic Sea, encompassing more than a thousand islands, crossed by the Dinaric Alps and dotted with castl

• During World war I, Croatian soldiers served in Croatian Home Guard units, Croatian military section of Austro-Hungarian army formed after Croatian–Hungarian Agreement of 1868