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This article focuses on the contribution of the EU towards and through NGOs and civil society groups in rebuilding the condition of peace and security in the post-war environment of the Western Balkans. Looking comparatively at the aid provided through public channels and through the NGO and civil society sector to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo, the article identifies the place given by EU institutions to non-state actors and how international donors’ preferences have changed over the years. The result of the analysis is that, despite rhetoric on the importance of local ownership and of civil society actors, EU institutions comparatively deliver more aid through public channels than through NGOs.

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