Balkan leaders attend EU summit in Montenegro as enlargement gains urgency

TIVAT, Montenegro (AP) 鈥� Leaders from across the European Union and the Balkans are gathering in Montenegro on Friday to discuss expanding the bloc to include countries in the region, seen as a key area in countering security and economic threats posed by Russia and China.

The EU-Western Balkans summit, being held in the Adriatic Sea coastal town of Tivat, brings together European leaders including President Emmanuel Macron of France, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, as well as the heads of other EU candidate countries in the Balkans and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

High on the agenda will be EU accession for Montenegro, a small, mountainous nation that was once a part of Yugoslavia and which last month of its declaration of independence from a union with neighboring Serbia.

After joining NATO in 2017, the country of 623,000 people is set on fulfilling an ambitious agenda of becoming the 28th member of the EU in 2028. The motto 鈥�28 by 28鈥� has even been inscribed on one of the planes of Montenegro’s national airline.

The EU has already formed a working group to draft an accession treaty for Montenegro 鈥� a signal that membership is . It is considered a front-runner ahead of the region’s other candidate countries of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia.

All are at different stages of the accession process, and the EU has recently sought to encourage reform in the candidate nations fearing the growing influence of and .

Candidate countries must bring their laws into line in 35 policy areas or 鈥渃hapters,鈥� ranging from justice standards to farm and fishing rules. All 27 EU members must agree before each chapter can be opened, and then again for it to be closed.

Ukraine and Moldova are also among about ten countries aspiring to join the bloc. Iceland will hold in August on whether to apply.

The summit will be chaired by European Council President Antonio Costa, who during a tour of countries in the Western Balkans this week has how serious the bloc is about enlarging.

As wars rage in Ukraine, Iran and the Middle East and Europe’s future security has come under question with the United States viewed as less committed to its NATO allies, EU countries have pushed to boost military capabilities and defend against what is seen as an increasingly aggressive Russia.

Speaking in Serbia on Thursday after meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Costa said that in times of 鈥済lobal geopolitical uncertainty and economic instability鈥� enlarging the EU is “not just an opportunity. It is a geostrategic necessity for Europe.鈥�

Faruk Ba拧i膰, a researcher at the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics, said the summit will likely result in a rapid movement for Montenegro to join the bloc in 2028. It will also likely see new safeguards to ensure member nations don鈥檛 break EU norms.

The summit will be the first to bring together EU leaders since the stunning defeat in April of Viktor Orb谩n, Hungary鈥檚 former Russia-friendly prime minister who, during his 16-year rule, flouted the EU鈥檚 standards on democracy and the rule of law and forged close ties with other autocrats.

With the painful experience of Orb谩n鈥檚 democratic backsliding and historic use of the veto in the European Council, the EU is devising new ways to use financial penalties or restricted access to the single market to pressure incoming nations to carry out reforms and adapt to the bloc’s standards, Ba拧i膰 said.

鈥淭he EU is trying to find a way how to admit a country that isn鈥檛 fully ready to be admitted without losing the ability to hold it accountable after the fact,鈥� he said, pointing to Ukraine鈥檚 accession bid as well as nations in the Western Balkans like Serbia and Kosovo.

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McNeil reported from Brussels.