Kos: Montenegro will be the first to join the European Union, followed by Albania
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said that Montenegro is the next country the European Union will admit into its membership. Kos clarified that Albania will most likely follow Montenegro in the accession process.
- Now there is a very real possibility that the EU will grow in the coming years. In many parts of the Western Balkans, there is still skepticism about whether EU membership is truly achievable. I hope that the positive example of Montenegro and Albania, which is next in line, will inspire the rest of the Western Balkans to follow the same path - Kos said.
Accession agreements for new EU member states will, she noted, include a new provision allowing the European Commission to impose sanctions in case of non-compliance with the Union’s rules and „values“.
- The accession treaty with Montenegro will be the first to include specific safeguard mechanisms, drawn from the experience with Hungary - Kos emphasized, as reported by Pobjeda.
Kos said the aim is to prevent „Trojan horses“ from emerging within the Union.
- If you had asked me this five or ten years ago, I would have said it was absurd. But now we understand that we must be able to protect ourselves - the European Commissioner added.
As noted by Klix.ba, obtaining candidate status is only the beginning of a rather long path toward European Union membership.
The last country to join the EU was Croatia, which became a member in 2013.
Turkey has been a candidate since 1999, North Macedonia since 2005, Montenegro since 2010, Serbia since 2012, while Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted candidate status at the end of 2022.