July 24, 2023
The US Is Indispensable in the Western Balkans — for Now
This June marked twenty years since the 2003 Thessaloniki Summit, where EU leaders declared that the “future of the Balkans is within the European Union.”
Yet two decades later, EU membership for all Western Balkan countries but Croatia remains elusive, as the region struggles to overcome persistent ethnic tensions and implement necessary reforms for accession.
Active engagement from Washington now will allow the European Union to take over primary responsibility for the Balkans and lead without U.S. assistance in the future.
With EU enlargement back on the political agenda following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West has an opportunity to revitalise its policy toward the Western Balkans. To capitalise on this renewed geopolitical momentum, greater leadership from the United States is key.
Read the full article from Euractiv.
More from CNAS
-
The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World with Hal Brands
Podcast
For more than 100 years, the continent of Eurasia has played a central role in global geopolitics. In the 20th century, numerous authoritarian powers from Germany under Kaiser...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Hal Brands
-
Trump Wants a Nuclear Deal. Can He Be the Ultimate Negotiator?
Commentary
Should Trump negotiate with Russia’s Putin, and what terms should he pursue if US and global security is to be enhanced?...
By Jon B. Wolfsthal
-
Trump Turning Washington Crash into ‘Bar Room Talk’ Will Turn People Away | Jim Townsend
Video
Trump's unchecked claims that the DC crash was caused by diversity quotas should "turn people away" from him, says Jim Townsend, an adjunct senior fellow in the CNAS Transatla...
By Jim Townsend
-
Putin’s Fight Won’t End With Ukraine
Podcast
In an essay for Foreign Affairs, titled “Putin’s Point of No Return,” Andrea Kendall-Taylor, senior fellow and director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor
