Garčević Publishes Op-Ed on EU “Power Currency”
Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published an op-ed in Balkan Insight exploring Brussels’ power currency, European Union (EU) enlargement, and the prospect of EU membership for countries in the Western Balkans.
In the article, titled “Brussels Must Revive its Weekend Power Currency in Balkans,” Garčević discusses the prospect of EU membership for the countries of the Western Balkans and how there has been little prospect on that front as Brussels has halted its rapid enlargement. He goes on to argue for a redesigned accession process which offers “integration into the EU in several steps and setting intermediate goals before full inclusion into the club.”
An excerpt:
The EU’s chief tool in the Western Balkans is the offer and hope of EU membership – so if it doesn’t reboot the stalled enlargement process, its ability to shape events in the region will suffer. This process has not been working well lately, and is nearing a dead-end. The EU’s traditional “power currencies” have been seriously compromised…In a long run, the EU should redesign the accession process, offering integration into the EU in several steps and setting intermediate goals before full inclusion into the club.
The full article can be read on Balkan Insight‘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 a 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.