Marta Kos

Brussels drops the idea of membership before reforms and offers Ukraine gradual access plus farm sector limits

Commission draft outlines gradual integration for candidates, with Chisinau and Kyiv cited as early beneficiaries in trade, energy and roaming

Andrija Mandić keeps the speakership, but his condolences to the Mladić family have split the ruling majority and put Montenegro’s final EU reforms at risk

His death has stirred up strong feelings linking back to the break-up of Yugoslavia and the ethnic conflicts that ensued in the Balkans

Marta Kos says the military reception of the convicted war criminal’s remains and the glorification around his death are incompatible with the values required for accession

Serbia’s Minister Snežana Paunović said that if she was Slobodan Milošević, she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo in 1998

Diplomats privately doubt whether Serbia genuinely seeks full EU membership or is primarily interested in access to EU funds

Diplomats suspect Belgrade is mimicking reform in order to secure access to EU funds - in particular the frozen €1.5 billion

The opening of negotiations follows the completion of what EU officials describe as the fastest screening process in the history of enlargement

Kosovo risks being perceived not as a small but reliable democracy, but as another source of instability on Europe’s periphery

The delays in implementation cast doubt over funding for key projects, putting at risk projects to the tune of nearly €1 billion

The enlargement commissioner acted as if the EU executive had the right to arbitrate in the internal political processes of a candidate country