Eastern Monitor: Biden’s administration as a chance for a new start of US-EU cooperation in the Western Balkans

In her latest policy paper from the Eastern Monitor series, our research fellow Jana Juzová focuses on US President Joe Biden's foreign policy administration in relation to the EU and possible future cooperation in the Western Balkans.

After the drift in the transatlantic relations under the Trump administration in the past four years many changes are expected by the new Joe Biden administration. One of the foreign policy areas where major changes are to come is Western Balkans and the continued stabilization and normalization processes in the region. While in most of areas the capacity of the new U.S. President and his administration to achieve visible changes during the short time span of the first term is limited, in the case of the Western Balkans it represents a real opportunity for some positive impact. The historical experience showed that progress in the region can be achieved only through a coordinated joint approach by the U.S. and the EU.

The result of the elections is also due to Biden’s history with the region great news especially for Kosovo. His hard stance on Serbs in the 1990s as well as his open support to Kosovo independence suggest that the small nation will now have a strong partner on its side, and Biden is the most desirable President for Kosovo. This expectation was reaffirmed by Biden’s statement urging for the continuation of the Dialogue, leading towards mutual recognition.

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Jana Juzová
Senior Research Fellow

Expertise: regionalism, Visegrad cooperation, democratization and European integration of the Western Balkan countries, EU enlargement

Eastern Monitor Archív
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Provides updates on the European Neighbourhood Policy agenda of the EU and the integration and enlargement issues.