US Balkans policy is now a 'naked money grab'
PRISTINA – Western consensus on the Western Balkans has unravelled as, for the first time in many years, both the EU and the US are openly pursuing different policy choices in the region.
Following the re-election of US President Donald Trump, the US has become much more transactional, pushing economic development models that explicitly favour American businesses. Iin a recent report on the Western Balkans, the US State Department noted that the “US-led nation-building era has passed,” a statement interpreted as an abandonment of Washington’s previous values-driven foreign policy.
In contrast, the EU has leaned into a rules-based policy, defined by the bloc’s lengthy accession procedures, and has demanded that Balkan states either commit to reforms or lose funding.
Competing visions for Bosnia
