Garcevic Publishes Op-Ed on EU’s Plan to Embrace the Balkans
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 attempts by the European Union to embrace the Balkans in light of the growing influence of China and Russia in the region.
Garcevic’s Op-Ed, entitled “To Thwart China and Russia, EU Plans to Embrace Balkans,” was published on April 4, 2018 in The Globe Post.
From the text of the article:
Did the EU make a mistake by announcing a long-awaited new strategy for the Balkans that re-confirms a credible enlargement perspective for a group of Western Balkans states, and first of all, Montenegro and Serbia?
The EU has never been seen as an actor willing to take a risk and make bold moves. Weakened by the recent migrant and financial crisis, Brussels’ decision to continue with further accession and even setting a tentative (target) date – 2025 – as a possible new wave of enlargement, doesn’t look as a move in the right direction at the first glance.
What prompted Brussels to reinvigorate the EU perspective of the region hampered with outstanding bilateral issues and challenges such as corruption and the rule of law? Why is this region so important for the EU to make, for many, a surprising move towards further expansion in the midst of Brexit talks?
While politicians in the Balkans applauded the EU strategy that keeps their European perspective alive, the one thing is clear: the new policy doesn’t reflect a Copernican turn of mind for Berlin, Paris or The Hague. Although a post-Brexit Europe is getting more favorable for EU citizens, they are still not supportive of the idea of further enlargement and want to keep control over EU membership, trade and migration.
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.