The Collapse of Yugoslavia 1991–1999

Milosevic's actions in both Kosovo and Vojvodina caused immense concern amongst the other republics of the Yugoslav federation, most notably Croatia and Slovenia. It is important at this juncture to put the breakdown of the former Yugoslavia into a wider context in Eastern Europe. The end of the Cold War allowed the former communist-dominated states to stretch out their hands to the European Community (EC) as a means of providing long-term economic stability for their impoverished countries. States such as Slovenia and Croatia quite naturally saw this route as the logical solution to their economic woes, but the question was how to facilitate a new partnership given their status within the Yugoslav federation. It was this issue that dominated the critical meeting of Yugoslav Communists in January 1990. The leaders of Slovenia and Croatia put forward their plan for greater political pluralism and sovereignty for the republics. Milosevic, however, rejected the proposal, as it would diminish Belgrade's grip on the federation. The upshot of the meeting was deadlock. The leaders of Croatia and Slovenia walked out and promised to hold multi-party elections as soon as possible.