On Wednesday 4 November, the European Commission accompanied its annual reports on candidate countries’ progress with accession ‘roadmaps’ for four of them. Two of the countries are from the Western Balkans: Montenegro and Albania. “The progress of these countries shows that advancing towards EU membership depends on political will and political choices”, the Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, told the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. “Any country can join the countries moving fast”.
The Commission has proposed indicative dates for these ‘best performers’, considering them capable of closing the negotiating chapters on the Community acquis by the end of this year for Podgorica and in 2027 for Tirana. For the region’s other candidate countries, no significant change has brought such prospects within reach.
Montenegro. “Decisive” and “remarkable” progress. The Commission and its 2026 report have no shortage of praise for Podgorica’s progress on almost all areas covered by the negotiations on the Community acquis. According to an EU official, the country is expected to close three more chapters at the next Intergovernmental Conference, scheduled for Friday 6 November (see EUROPE 13974/13).
The Commission believes the negotiations could be completed as early as December. Work on the draft accession treaty would be completed in spring 2027, and the treaty would be signed in June that year. This tight timetable will also have to accommodate Croatia’s demands (see EUROPE 13974/14). “We believe this is feasible”, an EU official said, describing the ongoing negotiations between Zagreb and Podgorica as encouraging and on track.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/o8v
Albania. Montenegro’s neighbour, Albania, “is today where Montenegro was last year”, a senior EU official explained, suggesting that accession could take place in 2029. The Commission’s ‘roadmap’ also sets out an indicative timetable for closing the 31 remaining chapters by 2027.
Six of them, covering intellectual property and foreign policy, could be closed by the end of this year, followed by around 10 in the first half of 2027. The most demanding chapters are scheduled for the second half of next year, including the environment and Chapters 23 and 24, which concern justice and fundamental rights. The ‘roadmap’ also states that Albania needs to “devote substantial further efforts” if it is to keep to the Commission’s proposed timetable.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/o8y
Serbia. A candidate country since 2012, Serbia has made no progress in its negotiations since 2022. In its 2026 report, the Commission finds that most of its 2025 recommendations have not been implemented. It considers the country’s alignment with EU foreign policy, at just 63%, insufficient. It is concerned about “negative trends on the fundamentals” and “persistent anti-EU rhetoric”, illustrated by the funeral of Ratko Mladić, the former military commander who had been serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In the absence of change, the Commission’s recommendations “remain valid”, and it is now up to the Student List, which defeated former Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, to act on them (see EUROPE 13968/12).
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/o8s
Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina, another country in the region to have held elections (see EUROPE 13952/5), receives a harsh assessment. The Commission is concerned about the rise in anti-EU rhetoric and “increasing disengagement from the EU path”. The report notes the lack of progress in tackling corruption, which the authorities are said to have “actively obstructed”, and finds that “all levels of government show signs of state capture”. In the absence of results, the recommendations made last year “remain valid”, the report concludes.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/o8t
North Macedonia. Skopje has made “no progress on the constitutional changes required”, despite its commitment to include the Bulgarian minority in the constitution, a condition for opening the Cluster 1 negotiating chapters on the acquis. The Commission does note some positive points. On the economy, North Macedonia was “the only Western Balkan economy where growth accelerated”. Skopje is fully aligned with the common foreign and security policy and almost fully aligned with EU visa policy.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/o8u
Kosovo. Kosovo, a “potential” candidate, is emerging from a year of political paralysis. A political agreement reached in early October has enabled progress. The Commission is, however, concerned about certain amendments to the law on the Specialist Chambers (see EUROPE 13955/27), which raise “serious concerns regarding (...) the compliance with basic rule of law principles”, the report states. The Commission reiterates its recommendations, including that Kosovo should “advance normalisation of relations with Serbia through the EU-facilitated Dialogue”.
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/o8w (Original version in French by Louis Dubar)