Garčević Discusses Prospect of Accelerated EU Integration for Western Balkans
Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was interviewed for a Radio Free Europe article on the prospect of European Union (EU) membership for the Western Balkans.
In the article, titled “Pozivi za ‘evropeizaciju’ Balkana zbog rata u Ukrajini (Calls for the ‘Europeanisation’ of the Balkans over the war in Ukraine),” Garčević discussed whether accelerated integration of the Balkans into the EU is a realistic scenario given the crisis in Ukraine. He argues that Brussels should act preventively to prevent the conflict in Ukraine from spilling over into the Western Balkans or other parts of Europe; however, such a security arrangement would not ensure the region’s integration into the EU. While he is optimistic that some things might accelerate, Garčević stated that “an idea of accelerated inclusion of the region would open a long debate among EU members and face them with the dilemma of whether to insist on values or the need for security,” and “we cannot expect the Western Balkans in the EU, soon.”
The full article can be read on Radio Free Europe‘s website.
During his diplomatic career, Ambassador Vesko Garčević 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 Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School. Learn more about Ambassador Garčević on his faculty profile.