EU Pushes Western Balkans Expansion

European leaders will use the EU-Western Balkans summit in Montenegro on Friday to advance enlargement plans, as Brussels seeks to strengthen its influence amid growing geopolitical competition with Russia and China.

The gathering in Tivat brings together senior EU officials, including Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, Giorgia Meloni, and Ursula von der Leyen, alongside leaders from six Western Balkan candidate countries.

The summit is expected to endorse a Franco-German initiative designed to accelerate reforms by offering candidates greater access to the EU single market and observer roles within EU institutions before full membership.

Antonio Costa described enlargement as the EU’s most important geopolitical investment, calling it a strategic necessity for Europe’s future stability and security.

Montenegro remains the leading candidate for accession and is targeting EU membership by 2028. Albania has also made progress, while accession paths for Serbia and Kosovo remain more complex due to political and diplomatic challenges.

EU officials view deeper integration of the Western Balkans as essential to preventing external powers from expanding their influence in a region considered critical to long-term European stability.