Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (alternatively placed in Central Europe), Cyprus (alternatively placed in West Asia), Greece (alternatively placed in Southern Europe), Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey (alternatively placed in Southern Europe or West Asia). Sometimes, Moldova (alternatively placed in Eastern Europe) and Slovenia (alternatively placed in Central Europe) are also included. The largest city of the region is Istanbul, followed by Bucharest, Sofia,

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, and Athens. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of the region, due to political, economic, historical, cultural, and geographical considerations.

Definition

The first known use of the term "Southeast Europe" was by

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

researcher Johann Georg von Hahn (1811–1869) as a broader term than the traditional Balkans, a concept based on the boundaries of the Balkan Peninsula (the countries that have been described as being entirely within the Balkan region are: Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and North Macedonia).

Geographical Southeast Europe

Countries that are geographically, at least partially, described to be within the region are as follows: * Albania * Bosnia and Herzegovina * Bulgaria * Croatia * Cyprus * Greece (North) * Kosovo * Moldova * Montenegro * North Macedonia * Romania * Serbia * Slovenia * Turkey (

East Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace ( tr, Doğu Trakya or simply ''Trakya''; el, Ανατολική Θράκη, ''Anatoliki Thraki''; bg, Източна Тракия, ''Iztochna Trakiya''), also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the pa ...

)

''CIA World Factbook''

In the ''

CIA World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...

'', the description of each country includes information about "Location" under the heading "Geography", where the country is classified into a region. The following countries are included in their classification "Southeast Europe": * Albania * Bosnia and Herzegovina * Bulgaria * Croatia * Kosovo * Montenegro * North Macedonia * Romania * Serbia * Turkey (

) In this classification, Slovenia is included in Central Europe, Greece in Southern Europe, and Moldova in Eastern Europe.

Notable views

*The Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (SPSEE) included Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia as member partners. *The South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey as member partners. *The

Southeast European Cooperative Initiative The Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) is a multilateral regional initiative that has been initiated by the European Union, the United States of America and the countries of Southeast Europe within the framework of the Organization ...

(SECI) includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey as member partners. *The EU-co-funded South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme includes the whole territory of Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and parts of Italy and Ukraine as part of the "programme area". *Studies of the World Bank treat Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia as the eight South Eastern European countries (SEE8). *A 2006 publication of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) listed Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro as 'south-eastern European countries'. *The World Bank does not include the EU countries in its reports, and lists only Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia (SEE6). * UNHCR's Regional Office in South Eastern Europe currently lists Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro as part of 'South Eastern Europe'.

Notes

References

Sources

* Paul L. Horecky (ed.), Southeastern Europe: A guide to basic publications, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1969. * * * Troebst, Stefan
"Historical Meso-Region": A Concept in Cultural Studies and HistoriographyEGO - European History Online
Mainz
Institute of European History
2012, retrieved: 4 March 2020
pdf

External links

* {{Authority control Regions of Europe Eastern Europe Southern Europe