Montenegro Is ‘Within Reach’ of Joining the EU by 2028, Von Der Leyen Says After Balkans Summit
EU leaders are seeking incentives to speed reforms, including privileged single-market access and observer status, as Montenegro hosts the summit.
- On Friday, European leaders gathered in Tivat, Montenegro, for a summit focused on Western Balkans enlargement, which European Council President Antonio Costa described as a 'geostrategic necessity for Europe.'
- Brussels views expansion as vital to counter security and economic threats from Russia and China, prompting six nations to sign a Franco-German initiative injecting fresh 'momentum' into the accession process.
- With public support for accession at around 80%, Montenegro describes itself as the 'epicenter of Euro-optimism,' pursuing membership for 22 years to become the 28th European Union member state by 2028.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed accelerated 'associated membership' to incentivize Balkan nations while compensating for preferential treatment afforded to Ukraine and discouraging partnerships with Moscow and Beijing.
- Chairman of Germany's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, David McAllister warned that failing to pass reforms risks creating 'dangerous gray zones,' as EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos recently flagged democratic 'backsliding.
45 Articles
45 Articles
EU seeks to accelerate Western Balkans integration as enlargement returns to centre stage
The European Union used a summit in Montenegro to signal that enlargement remains firmly on the bloc's agenda, even as long-standing disputes slow the accession of some Western Balkan countries
Montenegro, host of last Friday's EU summit, went through the EU membership process properly. That is better, says the Prime Minister, than all those...
Following yesterday's EU-Western Balkans summit, Austrian political scientist Vedran Džihić first recommends that Montenegro be admitted to the European Union.
The Prime Minister said today that Portugal supports the gradual integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union (EU) and the status of associate member for Ukraine, stating that the bloc needs these mechanisms if it is to be a global actor.In statements to journalists at the end of the summit of Heads of State and Government of the European Union (EU) with their Western Balkan counterparts in the coastal city of Tivat, Montenegro, th…
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