Poland – Costa: EU enlargement a geostrategic priority for Europe

– EU enlargement is once again a geostrategic priority for Europe, European Council President António Costa declared today during his speech at the College of Europe in Natolin, Poland, according to consilium.europa.eu.

Costa said that Ukraine’s application for EU membership has created a new dynamic in the enlargement process.

According to him, this dynamic is not limited to Ukraine alone, but also extends to Moldova and the six Western Balkan partners, including Albania.

He stressed that the future of these countries lies within the European Union and that the accession process must be based on merit and on meeting EU standards.

“Each candidate country must be assessed individually, on the basis of its progress and achievements, and all must share the values and objectives of the European Union,” Costa said.

Speaking about the benefits of enlargement, the President of the European Council said that the countries that have joined the EU since 2004 have doubled their economies.

According to him, the new member countries have created a total of 26 million new jobs, over 6 million of them in those countries themselves.

Costa said that these figures show that previous enlargements have strengthened Europe and expanded the space of peace, stability and prosperity.

Referring to the current process, Costa said that Montenegro aims to conclude its accession negotiations by the end of the year, if it meets all the conditions.

For Ukraine and Moldova, he said the ambition is to open all the negotiation clusters by the end of the year, in line with the necessary conditions.

Meanwhile, Albania continues its EU accession negotiations. According to the EU Council, all 33 of Albania’s negotiation chapters have been opened and three of them have been provisionally closed.

The most recent meeting of the accession conference was held on 14 July 2026.

The European Council will hold a strategic discussion on enlargement and on European Union reforms on 15 and 16 October.