Kos floats speedy EU accession for Albania, Montenegro

The Munich Security Conference ended on a cautiously positive note for EU candidate countries Albania and Montenegro on Sunday, 16 February.

After a tumultuous 3 days, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos namechecked Albania and Montenegro as “front-runners” for EU accession during a roundtable discussion, adding that their negotiations could be concluded by the end of 2026 or 2027. North Macedonia could also be “very, very quickly on a good path”, Kos said.

Kos, who is from Slovenia, assumed the role of enlargement commissioner on 1 December. She said she could complete 2-3 accession negotiations by the end of her 5-year term. However, ending negotiations would not mean that these countries could immediately join the EU. 

Rama, Mickoski cautious after long wait

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who took part in the roundtable discussion, was cautiously optimistic about the announcement for his country, an official EU accession candidate since 2014. On 13 February he tweeted: “Yesterday we received the letter from the Polish Presidency of the EU on opening Chapter 3 (which concerns freedom to provide services) of the negotiations, while on January 29 we received the letter for the opening of Chapter 2 (freedom of movement for workers), that is, for the opening of two other doors in the corridor towards the great hall of the united European family.”

North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, who also took part in the roundtable event, said he hoped other countries wanting to join the EU would not have the same experience as his country, which has been an official EU accession candidate since 2005, 5 years longer than Montenegro.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Munich conference, Mickoski said, “For us, the fairy tale has become a moving target. We are a victim of bilateralism or, to be more precise, our move towards the EU is very complicated. Instead of bringing Europe to the Balkans, we brought the Balkans to Europe. 

“Unfortunately, there are EU member states that come from the Balkans and that brought bilateral disputes with them to Brussels, instead of bringing Brussels values to the Balkans,” Mickoski added.

Kos said she could understand the disappointment over the sometimes lengthy negotiations. “We are already accelerating the process, especially with Ukraine. We are working in the EU two to three times faster, but we should distinguish between the technical part of the process and the political part,” she said, adding that no important steps can be implemented without the will of the member states.

Italy backs fast-tracking Balkan accessions

Earlier in the week, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani presented a national position paper outlining proposals to accelerate the EU accession process for candidate countries. Tajani presented Italy’s plan to Kos and the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas. The proposal was shared with ministerial representatives from candidate countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, as well as EU member states Austria, Croatia, Greece, Czechia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Tajani said “We are in favour of admitting all candidate countries before 2030. Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia have made significant progress, and I believe 2029 is a realistic target,” Tajani stated. “We also support Bosnia’s accession, though it may require more time.”