European Council President Antonio Costa said the EU will look for ways to speed up membership talks for Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro at a summit in Tivat, while insisting progress depends heavily on domestic refo
Belgrade’s air was still tied to politics by the time Antonio Costa stepped into his news conference on Thursday. The European Council president had come to Serbia before an EU summit in Montenegro. and he brought a message that sounded simple on the surface: the bloc needs a faster. less frustrating path toward enlargement.
Costa said the European Union will look for new ways to speed up the membership process for six candidate countries from the Western Balkans at the summit on Friday in the Montenegrin coastal town of Tivat. Albania. Bosnia-Herzegovina. Kosovo. North Macedonia. Serbia and Montenegro have been seeking to join the bloc for years but have yet to complete the merit-based process.
The push comes as the EU tries to keep reforms moving in candidate nations. worrying about the growing influence of Russia and China. Costa’s warning was aimed at the human cost of delay as much as the political one. “If you want to boost the trust between each other. we cannot create this feel of frustration” over apparent slow progress toward membership. he said.
At the core of the membership timetable is the pace of legal alignment. Candidate countries must bring their laws into line in 35 policy areas or “chapters. ” ranging from justice standards to farm and fishing rules. All 27 EU members must agree before each chapter can be opened. and then again for it to be closed—an arrangement that makes speed difficult even when governments want it.
The summit in Tivat will bring together top European leaders and officials from the candidate countries. with Montenegro and Albania leading the way. While Costa talked about improving the process. the EU has also made clear that the enlargement path is not only about paperwork. Serbia and Kosovo must normalize relations for their membership applications to progress.
Kosovo was a Serbian province until NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign in 1999 ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists. Kosovo’s independence was proclaimed in 2008, and Serbia does not recognize it.
“Tomorrow the European leaders will discuss with the leaders of the Western Balkans how we can improve our methodology to move forward faster and better. ” Costa said. He added that the enlargement is not a distant dream. “The enlargement is not a utopia but it is something that could be real in the coming years,” he insisted. “For this we need to work harder and faster.”.
Before traveling to Montenegro, Costa wrapped up a pre-summit tour of the Western Balkan candidate nations. In Belgrade, he told Serbian populist President Aleksandar Vucic that Serbia must boost democratic reform and align its foreign policies with those of the EU if it wants to move forward.
Serbia’s situation has grown more tense as the EU has tightened pressure. Serbia has been warned it could lose access to around 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in EU funds if it fails to halt democratic backsliding. including in the judiciary. It has also been told to improve media freedom and the conditions for free and fair elections.
On Russia and Ukraine, the contrast with EU expectations is sharp. Serbia remains the only European nation that has not imposed sanctions on Russia because of the war in Ukraine. It also maintains friendly ties with Moscow, along with China—where Vucic recently traveled.
“We want and we are ready to do more,” Costa said. “But let me be clear, the pace of progress depends on Serbia’s own resolve.”
For Vucic, the demand lands in a country that has been under pressure for months. Increasingly authoritarian. he has faced continued youth-led street protests that first started in November 2024 after a train station accident in the country’s north killed 16 people. On Thursday, Vucic pledged to push the reform with “new enthusiasm” and keep Serbia on the EU path.
That domestic unrest is intersecting with regional friction. Vucic travels to Tivat a day after Montenegro banned 87 Serbs from entering the country, citing security concerns. Police said the men had communication equipment and banners reading “Serbia wins,” a slogan Vucic uses in his public appearances. It was not immediately clear why the men had traveled to Montenegro.
Still. Costa’s message before the summit points to the EU’s main dilemma: how to speed up a process that depends on consensus among all 27 member states and on candidate governments meeting conditions that stretch far beyond legislation. On Friday. European leaders will try to tighten the machinery of accession—while the candidates. and especially Serbia. push to show the EU that time and trust can finally move in the same direction.
European Union Western Balkans EU enlargement Antonio Costa Belgrade Tivat summit Serbia Kosovo Albania Montenegro North Macedonia Bosnia-Herzegovina accession chapters democratic reform Russia sanctions