The President of the European Council, António Costa, defended this Tuesday that Montenegro, in the Western Balkans, could be the next country to join the European Union (EU), stressing that European enlargement “is urgent and necessary”.
“Montenegro has made the greatest progress and its ambition to close negotiations by the end of 2026 seems credible today, if it maintains the same commitment and intense work on the required reforms. I believe that Montenegro can be 28 at 28 [em 2028]”, said António Costa, in an intervention during a conference on the enlargement of the European bloc organized by the television station Euronews, in Brussels.
This statement by António Costa comes on the day that the community executive presented its annual package regarding enlargement, with analyzes of the countries on the list to enter the EU, having concluded that Montenegro “has made significant progress (…), closing four negotiation chapters over the last year”.
“Maintaining steady progress on reforms and seeking a broad and continuous political consensus are crucial factors in achieving the country’s objective of closing accession negotiations by the end of 2026. As long as it maintains the pace of reforms, Montenegro is on track to achieve this ambitious objective”, considered the European Commission.
In his intervention, António Costa also pointed out that Ukraine and Moldova “have made impressive progress”.
“Ukraine – a country at war – and Moldova, which faces repeated attacks on its democracy and sovereignty, completed, over the course of a year, the Commission’s analysis of the community acquis, at record speed”, pointed out the former Portuguese prime minister.
In its report, the European Commission described that Ukraine “remains strongly committed to its path towards EU membership, having successfully completed the assessment process and advanced fundamental reforms”.
As for Moldova, Brussels stressed that Chisinau, despite “continuous hybrid threats and attempts to destabilize the country”, managed to “advance significantly in its accession path, successfully concluding the evaluation process”.
At the same conference in the Belgian capital, António Costa recalled having placed EU enlargement as a priority of his mandate.
“The current geopolitical context makes this priority even more urgent and necessary for the EU”, he defended, speaking of an enlarged and “safer, stronger and more peaceful Union”.
Enlargement occurs when new countries join the EU.
Currently, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine are on the list of candidate countries for EU membership.
The EU and its Member States have consistently reaffirmed their commitment to the full integration of these countries, especially the Western Balkans, recognizing that enlargement, based on the principle of merit, represents a strategic priority with political, economic and security benefits for the entire Union.
On December 1st, António Costa began his two and a half year term as head of the European Council, being the first socialist and the first Portuguese in this position.