Vučić urges ‘all-in’ EU entry for Western Balkans to secure regional stability

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić arrived in Brussels on Wednesday for a high-stakes dinner with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, where he plans to pitch a bold vision: admitting all Western Balkan nations to the European Union simultaneously.

“The admission of the entire Western Balkan region is the best idea,” Vučić declared at the Beltalks Forum in Belgrade, framing it as a win for Europe’s future amid geopolitical turbulence.

The proposal comes as the EU grapples with uneven progress in its long-stalled enlargement drive for the region, which was collectively promised a path to membership since the 2003 Thessaloniki Summit. Under the bloc’s revised 2020 methodology, negotiations are clustered into thematic blocks, emphasizing rule of law and reversibility to prevent backsliding. Yet, as the 2025 Enlargement Package reveals, advancement remains patchy, with frontrunners pulling ahead while others, including Serbia, lag behind.

Montenegro leads the pack, having opened accession talks in 2012 and provisionally closing four chapters last year. The Commission now eyes completion of negotiations by late 2026, with membership possible by 2028 – a timeline Montenegro’s government has embraced through accelerated reforms in judiciary and anti-corruption.

Albania, too, shows promise, with Cluster 1 (fundamentals like rule of law) opened in 2022 and potential closure of talks by 2027 if momentum holds.

North Macedonia has yet to change its constitution to include Bulgarians, with the move unlocking its accession negotiations.

Bosnia and Herzegovina only launched negotiations in March 2025, mired in ethnic divisions and institutional paralysis that hinder even basic alignment.

Kosovo, unrecognized by Serbia and five EU states, awaits a formal membership opinion but excels in foreign policy alignment, including full sanctions on Russia.

Serbia, the region’s largest economy with a €70 billion GDP, epitomizes the laggard status despite starting talks in 2014. It has opened three clusters but faces blocks on key areas: Chapter 35 (normalization with Kosovo) remains frozen amid stalled Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, while Cluster 6 (external relations) is stalled by Serbia’s refusal to impose EU sanctions on Russia – aligning only 58% on foreign policy declarations.

The 2025 report critiques Belgrade’s “falling short” on rule-of-law reforms, media freedoms, and anti-corruption, exacerbated by Vučić’s decade-long dominance and allegations of democratic erosion.

No new chapters are expected before year-end, per Brussels diplomats.

Vučić’s “all together” pitch addresses these disparities, arguing it would foster inclusivity – “everyone would feel better, including Albanians and Bosnians” – and prevent a fragmented region vulnerable to Russian or Chinese influence.

The irony is biting: the very president who has spent years rolling out the red carpet for Russian and Chinese influence in Serbia and across the Western Balkans—often at direct cost to EU strategic interests—is now presenting himself as the champion of a unified, all-in EU accession for the region.

The 10 December dinner precedes the 17 December EU-Western Balkans Summit in Brussels, where leaders will review the Growth Plan’s first disbursements—€560 million already unlocked for reforms.

With Beta, edited by g.g.

Caption: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attends a press conference with the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo after their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, 28 November 2025. The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is on an official state visit to Serbia. EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC