Wadephul in Budva: We hear Montenegro knocking on the EU’s door; Kos: the final phase will close soon

“Montenegro has been knocking on the European Union’s door for 20 years, since declaring independence — and that knocking is heard clearly in Brussels and in all European capitals,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Thursday in Budva, as Vijesti reports. At the press conference held as part of the EU–Western Balkans conference, part of the Berlin Process, he was joined by EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos.

Wadephul stressed that the region’s candidate countries must carry out reforms, but EU member states must also ensure that the prospect of membership remains credible. “If positive results are now missing, people here could lose faith in the enlargement process,” he said, referring to Montenegro — and assessed that the country’s chances are now entirely tangible.

He added, according to Vijesti, that EU enlargement to the Western Balkans is the key test for Europe and decisive for the continent’s security and its future. Only if the EU offers the countries of the region a credible membership perspective and ties them more closely to itself will it also secure its own lasting geopolitical room for manoeuvre, said Wadephul, who even before leaving for Montenegro had spoken in favour of accelerating enlargement because of Russia’s and China’s ambitions in the region.

For her part, Marta Kos said that Montenegro is “without any doubt” in the final phase of accession negotiations and assessed that this phase could close by the end of this year or at the beginning of next year, Vijesti writes. After that, the European Commission will forward all the documents to the European Council within about a month and a half. If the Council — that is, the heads of state and government of the EU — agrees, Montenegro and the EU can sign the accession treaty, which then goes for ratification in all member states. “Based on previous experience, this could take one to two years,” the Slovenian commissioner added, assessing that the progress of negotiations with Montenegro has brought new dynamism to the EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans, part of which is also Albania’s strong reform progress.