Meeting in Tirana last month, the Defense Ministers of Albania, Croatia, and Kosovo surprised many observers – and dismayed others -- by signing a Joint Declaration in the security realm. Citing NATO’s Strategic Concept and the EU’s Strategic Compass, the far-reaching declaration promises cooperation on critical goals and challenges of the era:
Promoting defense industry and supply chains
Enhancing interoperability
Countering hybrid threats
Advancing Euro-Atlantic integration
Is the Joint Declaration a model of regional and European self-reliance, and a watershed for Balkans security? What about sharp negative reaction in some quarters?
Join us for this exceptional discussion featuring Albanian Ambassador Ervin Bushati, Croatian Ambassador Pjer Šimunović and Kosovo Ambassador Ilir Dugolli, hosted by SAIS Lecturer & FPI Senior Fellow, Edward P. Joseph.
About the speakers
Ervin Bushati currently serves as the resident Ambassador of Albania to the United States and as the non-resident Ambassador to Mexico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. He has previously sat as a Member of Parliament in Albania from 2013 to 2021, where he also worked on the Economy and Finance Committee, the Foreign Policy Committee, and as the Head of the Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council. Mr. Bushati also covered elections in Russia and Ukraine as an election reporter for the OSCE and the Council of Europe, delivering strong content regarding the process of election, while staying politically neutral and providing a fair reflection of views in those countries.
Before starting in politics, Mr. Bushati was the founder and managing director of Bushati Konstruksion. He earned his bachelor's degree in economics from DePaul University in Chicago in 1999.
Pjer Šimunović has served as Croatia's Ambassador to the US since September 2017. Together with a career in journalism and academic research he served in various high-level positions in the Croatian Government, in the fields of national security, defense and diplomacy, as Director of the Office of the National Security Council, Ambassador to Israel, Defense State Secretary, National Coordinator for NATO and Assistant Foreign Minister. He worked with the BBC World Service in London, with the magazine Europ in Paris, and with the Croatian daily Večernji List; in Zagreb, covering foreign affairs. A regular speaker on political and security issues at many conferences and seminars, he is the author of a range of security studies and articles published in the leading international journals.
Ambassador Šimunović holds an M.A. degree from the Department of War Studies, King's College London. He is decorated with the title of Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur de la République française.
Ilir Dugolli currently serves as the Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to the United States of America.
Following Kosovo’s independence, he was among the first group of diplomats tasked with establishing Kosovo’s diplomatic missions.
He previously served as Ambassador to Turkey, with concurrent accreditations to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Jordan. Additionally, he held the position of Ambassador to Sweden, with accreditations to Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. He also served as Ambassador in Brussels, where he managed relations with Belgium, Luxembourg, NATO, and the EU.
Before joining the diplomatic service, he was affiliated with the University of Prishtina Faculty of Law and was actively involved in various civil society initiatives. Between 2002 and 2004, he served as Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Kosovo. He also acted as an adviser in numerous capacities, including as part of the legal team during the negotiations that led to Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence
About the Moderator
Edward P. Joseph is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute and Adjunct Lecturer at SAIS, specializing in Conflict Management. Edward served on the ground in the Balkans for a dozen years, including during the conflicts in each war-affected country: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, and then-Macedonia.
In 2012, as the US-nominated Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Edward negotiated the breakthrough agreement with Pristina and Belgrade to hold Serbian elections in independent Kosovo.
In July 1995, Edward and one UN colleague coordinated the evacuation of Zepa, close to neighboring Srebrenica.
In 1995-1996, Edward deployed with the NATO Implementation Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina as a US Army officer. He is a veteran and former Army helicopter pilot.
Edward has authored dozens of articles and reports on the region, including in SAIS Review. His June 2023 Foreign Policy article, ‘The United States is Creating a Kosovo Crisis’ described the overlooked obstacle to establishing autonomy for Kosovo Serbs. Edward was the lead author on the January 2022 SAIS-Wilson Center report explaining how the European non-recognizers (of Kosovo) stymie the entire region, and setting out a corrective strategy.
Edward has led and currently serves on the Board of the National Council on US-Libya Relations. Edward earned his J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law, and his B.A. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins University, and its School of Advanced International Studies.