From the Western Balkans to the Southern Caucasus and Europe’s eastern flank, the Euronews Enlargement Summit revealed a European Union closer to expansion than at any point in the past decade – but also the political obstacles that could still derail it.
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Leaders gathered in Brussels to discuss candidate countries’ ambitions to join the EU, and whether the bloc is ready to admit them as the prospect of expansion looks more real than it has in years.
From Ukraine and Georgia to Montenegro and Armenia, each country faces its own mix of political sensitivities, painstaking reforms and diplomatic hurdles. Progress can be swift, but setbacks can be equally dramatic.
“The ambition to join the European Union must help overcome historical grievances, reject nationalist rhetoric, and encourage countries to move towards genuine cooperation. Europe’s experience demonstrates that enlargement benefits us all,” European Council President António Costa told Euronews in a written address.
Armenia and Georgia head in opposite directions
In the Southern Caucasus, Armenia and Georgia are moving in opposite directions. Yerevan is preparing to apply for EU membership, while Tbilisi’s accession bid remains frozen, with little prospect of an imminent breakthrough.
Georgia’s candidacy has been stalled since 2024 over controversial laws on foreign influence and family values. At the summit, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze insisted he remained “very committed” to joining the bloc.
Pressed on how he intends to restart negotiations, however, he had no clear plan. He said Tbilisi did not intend to repeal the controversial laws, and accused the European Commission of double standards and of politically blackmailing Georgia.
“The Parliament of Georgia, with dignity, passed the legislation, which is fully in line with international standards,” he said, arguing that the request to repeal the laws interfered with the principle of sovereignty and likening it to Soviet methods.
Asked why Georgia still wanted to join the EU, Kobakhidze said he was “optimistic” that the bloc itself would change, both in its attitude towards Georgia and more broadly.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, meanwhile, said formally applying for EU membership in 2027 or 2028 was “realistic”, calling the EU the main path to protect the country’s democracy since the 2018 revolution.
“Our first intention is to create an alternative for the people of Armenia and for the Republic of Armenia, because, traditionally, the perception of our society and maybe our neighbourhood was that Armenia has no alternative,” he added.
Pashinyan said he was aware of the trade-off between joining the EU and remaining in Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union, and that the choice would be for the Armenian people.
Montenegro enters the final stretch
Montenegro is leading the accession race, aiming to become the EU’s 28th member state by 2028. But European Affairs Minister Maida Gorčević warned that her country would not accept second-class membership.
Last month, the Commission proposed an institutional safeguard for newcomers: a 15-year probation period that, in the most serious cases, could lead to the suspension of voting rights.
“We don’t want second-grade membership inside the European Union, because that wouldn’t be fair and that wouldn’t be full membership as well,” Gorčević said, adding that her government was not against additional safeguards.
She also said Podgorica was working to resolve outstanding bilateral issues with Croatia, though the border dispute could be settled after Montenegro joins the EU.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, for his part, warned that the upcoming French election could derail enlargement, as Eurosceptic candidates lead in the polls.
“The political events may affect the enlargement more substantially than anybody can imagine today,” Plenković said. “Some of the electors and parties are clearly opposing the process.”
He also questioned the timeline, saying that setting up a deadline was “not very smart”, warning that “something always unpredictable happens and things get postponed.”
Western Balkans moving at different speeds
Albania, the second-closest candidate, is also the second-fastest. Prime Minister Edi Rama reiterated his commitment to conclude negotiations by the end of 2027.
Defending enlargement as a merit-based process and acknowledging that his country still faces challenges, he called for a “Helmut Kohl moment” for the EU, a reference to the chancellor who unified Germany.
He also warned that Serbia’s new leadership was unlikely to soften Belgrade’s opposition to recognising Kosovo, a major obstacle to its own EU membership ambitions.
Asked how the prospect of EU membership would affect Albania’s controversial deal with Italy to transfer irregular migrants to deportation camps, Rama said “the deal will stay for as long as need be”, promising to keep it in force as long as Giorgia Meloni remains in power.
While Albania and Montenegro make significant progress, North Macedonia has been stalling for years over a dispute with Bulgaria about the treatment of the Bulgarian minority.
North Macedonia’s President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova said her country’s EU hopes are being held hostage by Bulgaria, which is demanding constitutional changes to recognise the minority.
Ukraine pushes back against farm restrictions
Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi rejected the proposed exclusion of certain agricultural products, such as wheat and grain, from the EU market even after Kyiv becomes a full member.
The Commission pitched the measure last month after pressure from several member states that feared the scale of Ukraine’s agricultural output could threaten their farmers.
“Transitional measures can be part of enlargement, but they must address specific risks. And be appropriate, and have clear review and exit conditions. They cannot become a permanent restriction or a subset of the single market,” Koretskyi said.
He said EU accession was at the heart of his government’s policy and that Kyiv aims to start closing negotiation chapters in the first half of 2027.
“I realised that these are ambitious objectives. We are not asking for shortcuts. We are asking for credible, merit-based paths with clear milestones and timely decisions when those milestones are met,” he said.
Moldova, the rising star
Moldova has rapidly joined the leading group of accession candidates, pursuing reforms at a pace the European Commission has struggled to match.
Chișinău could even find itself ready to close negotiating chapters before all the clusters have formally opened.
Asked whether his country should be “decoupled” from Ukraine, with which it has moved forward since Russia’s 2022 invasion, Prime Minister Vasile Tofan said it was not helpful to frame the discussion as a “racing game”.
“I fundamentally believe that Ukraine’s advancement on the EU integration path makes Moldova stronger, and vice versa, works the same way. So, the faster we go on our EU integration path, the better for Ukraine,” he said.
Tofan could not attend the summit in person, as he had to oversee the government’s response to a massive cyberattack that compromised the data of about 750,000 people.
“We suspect a state actor is behind it, and seeing what’s happening in Europe,” he added. “You can probably only guess. But I don’t think the list of suspects is very long.”
Asked whether Moldova would favour joining NATO, he said his government would “firmly support it”, but that there is no parliamentary majority to change the constitution, which enshrines neutrality.
