Europe 1999: Kosovo War

By 1995 atrocities in the Bosnian War prompted NATO intervention against the Bosnian Serbs and the UN occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Just a few years later, conflict broke out between ethnic Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo in the Yugoslav republic of Serbia itself. Again NATO intervened, forcing the Serbs to accept the UN administration of Kosovo.

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Main Events

20 Apr 1994 Collective Security Treaty

On May 15, 1992, the former Soviet States of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan signed the Confederation of Independent States Collective Security Treaty (which would become the Collective Security Treaty Organization in 2002). The military alliance went into effect on April 20, 1994, by which time Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Georgia had agreed to join. However, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan would decline to renew their membership in 1999.in wikipedia

5 Dec 1994 Budapest Memorandum

In December 1994 the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America signed the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe conference in Budapest, Hungary, confirming that Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine would become parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and surrender their substantial Soviet-era nuclear weapons stockpiles. In return for this, Russia, the UK, and the US agreed to respect the territorial integrity of these three former Soviet republics, to refrain from using force or economic coercion against them, and to assist them should they become the victims of aggression. As a result of these assurances and other agreements, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons between 1993 and 1996. in wikipedia

11 Dec 1994–31 Aug 1996 First Chechen War

In late 1994 the Russian government invaded the secessionist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in Chechnya, quickly capturing the capital of Grozny and driving the Chechen army into the mountains. However, Chechen insurgent tactics—raiding and taking hostages—brought the war to neighboring Russian regions, while heavy-handed and indiscriminate Russian reprisals led to both international condemnation and mounting civilian casualties. As the operation lost popular support and the demoralized Russian army began losing ground to the Chechens, the Russian government was forced to agree to peace, effectively acknowledging Chechnya’s de-facto independence.in wikipedia

1 Jan 1995 1995 enlargement of EU

Austria, Finland, and Sweden acceded to the European Union. Norway and Switzerland had also applied for membership, but had withdrawn their requests after negative referendums at home.in wikipedia

14 Dec 1995 Dayton Agreement

The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, was formally signed in Paris on 14 December 1995, ending the Bosnian War.in wikipedia

1 Jan 1999 Launch of the Euro

The official launch of the Euro on 1 January 1999 created a monetary union among Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain—collectively known as the Eurozone. The Euro was initially used alongside national currencies until physical notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002. Between 2000 and 2015 another eight states would adopt the currency.in wikipedia

12 Mar 1999 Visegrád Group

The collapse of Communism enticed many central European countries to seek closer ties with the west. In 1991, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland formed the Visegrád Group, which successfully lobbied to join NATO in 1999 (with the exception of the then-independent Slovakia).in wikipedia

24 Mar–11 Jun 1999 Kosovo War

The collapse of Yugoslavia saw the beginning of an insurgency by the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army. When the Yugoslav government retaliated against the KLA through collective punishment of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, NATO intervened with an aerial bombing campaign. On 12 June 1999 Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević agreed to NATO’s peace terms, allowing the NATO-led peacekeeping Kosovo Force (KFOR) to take over the administration of the region.in wikipedia