Amb. Garčević
Vesko Garčević, Director of the Center for the Study of Europe and Professor of the Practice of International Relations at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, shared his views on the ongoing negotiations between Montenegro and the United States regarding their Bilateral Immunity Agreement (BIA). His analysis appeared in a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Balkans Service article titled “Montenegro and the USA are negotiating the fate of the Agreement on the Non-Extradition of American Citizens to the Court in The Hague.,” published on September 16.
Garčević, a former Montenegro ambassador, explains the context of the BIA, which was signed between the US and Montenegro to protect US citizens from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). He notes that the US has negotiated similar agreements with over 100 states since the ICC’s formal creation in 2002.
The professor highlights the tension between US and EU positions on the ICC, stating, “The European Union (the EU) and the US have different views on the ICC since all the EU members are parties to the Court.” He points out that the EU requires aspiring members to align with its common foreign and security policy, which in this case means terminating BIAs with the US.
Garčević discusses the pressure Montenegro faces from Brussels to end the BIA with the US by the end of the year to accelerate its EU accession process. He notes, “Montenegro is under Brussels’ pressure to end the BIA with the US until the end of the year if it wants to speed up its accession to the Union.”
Regarding the potential impact on US-Montenegro relations, Garčević offers reassurance:
“It is not difficult to understand why Montenegro signed the Bilateral Immunity Agreement 20 years ago. But, Montenegro’s strategic priorities and EU membership aspiration determine the country’s decision to renegotiate the BIA with the US. Since many EU members and strategic US allies, like Poland or the Baltic states, have not signed the Agreement, Montenegro has a strong reason to believe that the termination of BIA will not put the bilateral relations in jeopardy.”
Garčević’s underlying point is that the termination of the treaty would not harm bilateral relations between the US and Montenegro, given Washington’s support for EU enlargement.
The complete article, with additional context on the BIA and its implications for Montenegro’s EU aspirations, was featured by the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Balkans Service and can be accessed here.
Ambassador Vesko Garčević dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years during his diplomatic career. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He was 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.
Garčević Analyzes Montenegro-US Bilateral Immunity Agreement Amid EU Accession Pressures
in In the Media