EU weighs accelerated accession process for six nations
Photo: António Costa (Getty Images)
The EU will look for new ways to accelerate the accession process for six candidate countries from the Western Balkans at an upcoming summit, stated President of the European Council António Costa during a press conference in Belgrade, according to AP News.
At the summit in the Montenegrin city of Tivat, European leaders and representatives of candidate countries plan to review the bloc's enlargement methodology. According to Costa, the EU wants to avoid frustration among candidates over the slow pace of the process and find ways to achieve results more quickly.
"The enlargement is not a utopia, but it is something that could be real in the coming years. For this, we need to work harder and faster," Costa said.
Requirements for candidate countries
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro have been seeking to join the European Union for years but have yet to complete the assessment of their compliance with membership criteria.
In recent years, the EU has stepped up efforts to integrate these countries and encourage reforms amid concerns about growing Russian and Chinese influence in the Balkans.
To become members, candidate countries must align their legislation with EU standards across 35 policy areas, ranging from the judiciary to agriculture. Opening and closing each chapter requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states.
At present, Montenegro and Albania are considered the frontrunners in the accession process. Meanwhile, a key condition for the further European integration of Serbia and Kosovo is the normalization of their bilateral relations.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently called on the EU to open the first negotiation cluster for Ukraine's accession as soon as possible.
According to assessments by European officials, Ukraine could close most of the negotiation chapters on EU accession within 12 to 18 months.
