Garcevic Publishes Op-Ed on EU-Western Balkans Relations
Ambassador Vesko Garcevic, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published a recent Op-Ed on relations between the European Union and the Western Balkans, and the future of EU enlargement.
The Op-Ed, entitled “Keeping the Balkans in EU Waiting Room Has Detrimental Consequences for Both,” was published in The Globe Post on July 12, 2019.
From the text of the article:
Enlargement has been critically low on the E.U. agenda for years. It’s premature to say that the E.U. perspective is dead, but it is in deep hibernation, and the winter appears to be lasting long. Most political actors in Western Europe, from left to right, view further expansion unfavorably.
A day after the meeting, annoyed with the mess over the appointment of the new E.U. officials, French President Emmanuel Macron deflated the aspirations of Western Balkans’ countries. His “no” to enlargement until the E.U. finds durable solutions for its own challenges is not surprising. A few months ago, Paris published a new (French) strategy for the Balkans. A striking detail is that the plan, while vaguely referring to the European future of the region, doesn’t mention membership for the Balkans.
Almost at the same time, German Chancellor Angela Merkelassured aspiring countries that joining the E.U. is in the best interest of Brussels, highlighting that E.U. reforms and enlargement can go hand in hand.
Under current circumstances, the French opinion on enlargement matters somewhat more than the German. Furthermore, Macron is publicly saying what most members of the West think. The position of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, and to some extent the current Italian government is similar to the one France advocates.
During his diplomatic career, Amb. Vesko Garcevic dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He had been a Montenegro’s Ambassador to NATO from 2010 until 2014 and served as a Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School.