Garčević Interviewed on Institutional Crisis in Montenegro
In interviews with Montenegrin daily Pobjeda (Victory) and Montenegrin TV E, Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, addressed the institutional crisis in Montenegro and the role of the European Union (EU) and the United States.
In his remarks, Garčević noted that while the recent visit of Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tanja Fajon, to Montenegro was useful, it was too little too late. He argued that the current political crisis in Montenegro cannot be resolved without more robust EU involvement; however, there does not appear to be an appetite for such intervention on Brussels or Washington’s side.
Garčević claims that the EU and U.S. are not aware of the proportion of the current political and institutional crisis in Montenegro. In the last 18 months, the country has backslidden rapidly, but Brussels has not demonstrated sufficient interest in it despite Montenegro’s candidate status and the accession talks for EU membership. For Washington, the Balkans has not been a priority for years, and it is naïve to expect President Joe Biden to refocus resources and political commitment on this part of Europe. Furthermore, the invasion of Ukraine has almost completely absorbed American attention leaving other parts of the continent, including the Balkans, neglected.
The full Pobjeda article can be read (in Bosnian) on the publication’s website. Garčević’s TV E interview can be viewed (in Bosnian) below.
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 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.