BALKAN ENTENTE

also called Balkan Pact (Feb. 9, 1934), mutual-defense agreement between Greece, Turkey, Romania, and Yugoslavia, intended to guarantee the signatories' territorial integrity and political independence against attack by another Balkan state (i.e., Bulgaria or Albania). The agreement provided for a Permanent Council, composed of the members' foreign ministers, that would coordinate legislation and foster economic cooperation. Despite professions of unity, the Balkan Entente was ineffective against growing German economic and political influence in the Balkans (193439) and against actual Axis aggression during World War II, when Albania had already fallen to the Italians. The entente likewise offered no security to Romania against the territorial claims of either the Soviet Union or Hungary.