European leaders will gather in Montenegro on Friday to reaffirm the membership prospects of six western Balkan countries, amid geopolitical competition with Russia and China. European Council President António Costa stated that the EU's commitment to the region is genuine, calling enlargement a “geostrategic interest for Europe” and an investment in peace and stability.
The summit in Tivat will include French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Discussions will focus on deeper integration of the six countries—Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia—into the EU single market.
Montenegro, the most advanced candidate aiming to join by 2028, recently held the first meeting of a technical group to draft its accession treaty. Albania is seen as next likely to join, though some EU members have concerns about its fight against organised crime. The hopes of North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Bosnia are clouded by political disputes, while Serbia is perceived as drifting away under President Aleksandar Vučić.
The summit follows Hungary's decision to drop its veto on Ukraine's EU talks, allowing Ukraine and Moldova to open negotiations on rule-of-law chapters. The fast-tracked candidacy of Ukraine, granted in 2022, has reshaped enlargement logic, according to researcher Faruk Bašić, who noted a “real geopolitical urgency” unseen before.
However, EU leaders are divided on Ukraine's accession path. A German proposal for associate membership without voting rights has faced criticism from Kyiv and some member states. One senior EU diplomat described it as a “substitute” that could hinder full membership. The treatment of Ukraine is likely to affect the western Balkans, though an EU official stressed that progress in the region is “extremely real”.
