EU’s Costa: Albania and Montenegro could join the EU before the others

Expanding to the Western Balkans is once again one of the EU’s priorities, European Council President António Costa told Euronews in an interview. He begins a tour of the region on Tuesday (13 May).

President of the European Council António CostaEu has sought to reassure EU candidate countries in the Western Balkans by saying that the continent’s future stability and prosperity depends on the enlargement of the bloc.

Speaking ahead of a tour of the region, Costa promised them that the EU was dedicated to relaunching the accession process, which has stalled of late, in part due to the hesitation of member states.

Costa also urged candidate countries to commit to reforms.

At the heart of his mission to the Western Balkans is the need for Brussels not to lose strategic control over a key region.

European institutions have often indicated 2030 as the target date for the first accessions to the EU, notably those of Albania, Montenegro and Serbia. However, Brussels is now only talking about Albania and Montenegro.

“I don’t have a fixed date. Why 2030? And why not before? Accession is a process based on merit. If the countries carry out the reforms, they could even join before 2030,” said Costa.

“But it is precisely the merits that can change. Albania and Montenegro are clearly more advanced than the other countries.”

‘Not fair’ to be overtaken by Ukraine, Moldova

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sped up the accession process for Ukraine and Moldova, so it is not fair to the countries of the Western Balkans to be overtaken by Ukraine and Moldova, and this will push them to move faster with reforms,” he told Euronews on the eve of his diplomatic tour of the six Western Balkan countries.

European Pravda, partner of EUalive, recently wrote that Moldova may overtake Ukraine on the path to EU membership, based on comments from diplomats and EU sources.

Hungary’s veto propels Moldova toward EU membership, leaving Ukraine in limbo

The European Council president’s first stop will be Serbia, a country that has been mired in political crisis for several months.

The same day, Costa will also visit Bosnia-Herzegovina, before meeting both Montenegro and Kosovo’s heads of state and government on Wednesday.

The following day he will visit North Macedonia. His final stop will then be Albania, where he will take part in the European Political Community (EPC) summit on Friday in Tirana.

The EPC is an intergovernmental political strategy forum bringing together over forty European countries, which was created in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama is poised for victory in the general elections held on Sunday after preliminary results showed voters returning him to power for an unprecedented fourth term.

Exit poll: Albania’s Edi Rama poised for fourth term

Commenting on Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić’s presence in Moscow and the political tensions in Serbia, Costa said one of the conditions for accession was common foreign policy between the EU and prospective member states.

However, he added: “On 9 May in Moscow, we celebrated an event of the past. Serbia’s future lies in Europe.”

“I know of no better incentive to overcome the conflicts that are still open than this perhaps unique opportunity, which is membership of the European Union. It is the best condition to offer the countries of the Western Balkans, an opportunity for prosperity that they would be hard pressed to find elsewhere,” Costa said.

Sources: Euronews, European Pravda, edited by g.g.

Caption: EU Council President Antonio Costa speaks during a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 07 May 2025. The current plenary session runs from 5 until 8 May 2025. [EPA-EFE/RONALD WITTEK]