EU Enlargement Commissioner highlights potential for more progress during Polish presidency than in the last ten years, singles out Montenegro and Albania

Speaking at the European Parliament on Tuesday, European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos highlighted significant changes in the EU enlargement process compared to four or five years ago, noting that “we have a new positive moment in the EU.” She expressed optimism about progress during the Polish Presidency, highlighting the potential for more progress during the six months of the Polish Presidency than in the past decade, ‘including up to ten intergovernmental conferences.’

Kos emphasized that, for the first time in a decade, the EU has a genuine opportunity to admit one, two, or three new countries during the current mandate. She specifically mentioned Montenegro and Albania, noting that “Montenegro aims to conclude negotiations by 2026, and Albania by 2027. We will support them, but substantial work remains to be done.” The Commissioner also announced upcoming visits to both Montenegro and Albania.

The context: Montenegro is at the most advanced stage of the negotiations. The fulfilment of the interim benchmarks for the rule of law chapters (Chapters 23 and 24) allowed the closing process of all negotiation chapters to start. At the sixteenth meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro in June 2024, the EU confirmed that Montenegro has met the interim benchmarks set for Chapters 23 and 24, paving the way for the country to start the process of closing chapters in the accession negotiations. Three chapters were closed in December and a total of six negotiating chapters have been provisionally closed.

Albania made substantial progress in advancing its EU accession negotiations in 2024. The EU decision to open the first cluster of accession negotiations in October was an acknowledgement of Albania’s progress in implementing critical reforms, particularly in areas like rule of law, public administration, and judiciary reforms. Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’ – focuses on essential reforms related to the rule of law. The EU decided to open a further group of chapters of accession negotiations with Albania in December – cluster 6 focusing on external relations. The Albanian government’s objective to close accession negotiations by the end of 2027 received support by the European Commission whose Enlargement package in October stated that ‘the Commission is ready to support this ambitious objective’.