Due to the impact of the global financial crisis，the west Balkan countries experienced an economic slowdown. In order to meet this challenge，most of the countries in this region，with Albania as an exception，adopted financial austerity measures，including reforming the social security system，lessening the workers’ welfare and extending the retirement age，which had in turn led to turmoil and constant strikes，thus having seriously damaged the social stability. As far as the external relations are concerned，accession to the EU is the major objective for west Balkan countries. However，a variety of factors，such as the border disputes between Slovenia and Croatia，the disagreement over the use of the name Macedonia between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece and the debt crisis within the EU member states，have obstructed their entry into the EU.