European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos assessed two days ago that including new countries into the European Union (EU) is not only an increase in the surface of the territory or the number of inhabitants, but also protection from external influences, adding that Montenegro by 2028 could become the next member.
“For me, the enlargement process today is a kind of unification of Europe, such as we have not had in history yet,” said Kos at a panel on the enlargement of the EU at the Bled Strategic Forum.
She emphasized the importance of leadership on the path to membership in the EU and a more decisive implementation of reforms in the candidate countries.
As positive examples, she cited the panel participants from two days ago – Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, assessing that she is optimistic about the entry of those countries into the EU.
“With Montenegro, we are making progress, and it is possible that, if in 2026 we conclude the technical part of the negotiations, 2028 will become the 28th member of the EU,” said Kos, and added that Albania could enter the EU in 2029.
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob called on the countries of the Western Balkans to take advantage of the “open window” for entering the EU, which opened with the war in Ukraine.
Golob also spoke about the way in which possible blockades of individual countries on the path of EU enlargement should be avoided.
“The formula 26 or 27-1 has already functioned, so it could also work in these cases,” said Golob, while his Croatian colleague Andrej Plenkovic referred to the former Slovenian blockade of Croatia’s negotiations with the EU, related to resolving the issue of the maritime border.
“When it comes to bilateral issues, I am in Slovenia and I will be very polite, let us just say that the past is the past, and that raising bilateral issues is not healthy for the accession process,” assessed Plenkovic, alluding to the blockade of Croatia’s negotiations with the EU from 2008.
The Albanian Prime Minister assessed that with the entry of the Western Balkan states into the EU, that organization would also become “stronger and more compact,” while the Montenegrin head of government emphasized the importance of compromise in that multiethnic country.
“If the EU expands to us, it will be stronger and more compact. Why? Because it will not leave any part of the body open to viruses, microbes, attacks, and infections,” said Rama.
