German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is optimistic that the Franco-German initiative for the gradual integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union can be implemented.
Merz said on Friday after the EU-Western Balkans summit in Montenegro that there was broad support among other member states and Western Balkan countries for the proposal he put forward with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Formal decisions would still be needed, Merz said, but informal talks in the Adriatic coastal resort of Tivat gave him hope that a genuinely good solution could be reached very soon.
The people of the Western Balkan states should receive a clear message that they are welcome in the EU, Merz said. To demonstrate this, the countries could be integrated in advance into the euro payments area or benefit from mobile roaming at domestic rates, for example, he said.
The Western Balkan EU candidate countries are Montenegro, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and North Macedonia. Kosovo is a potential candidate. Outside the Balkans, Moldova, which borders Ukraine, is also a candidate.
Merz and Macron presented the Franco-German proposal on EU enlargement shortly before the summit.
According to Merz, it envisages above all that EU candidate states be admitted as observers to meetings of EU bodies. They should also be able to attend sessions of the European Parliament, subject to its approval.
"We will now launch a gradual process," Merz said, describing it as a clear political signal that the process would be accelerated. "There will be no more excuses."
Details of the Franco-German plans
Friday's summit brought together 23 EU leaders with six leaders from Balkan states seeking EU membership.
Macron stressed the importance of the region for the European Union. He said it was of great geopolitical significance, as the Western Balkans would also determine Europe's independence in terms of energy and security issues as well as migration routes.
Under Merz and Macron's plans, meeting certain accession criteria will be rewarded with gradual access to the EU single market or the dispatch of observers to EU institutions, creating incentives for faster reforms.
The two leaders also proposed simplifying the negotiation process. Currently, more than 100 procedural steps are required and the opening of each of the more than 30 accession chapters must be agreed unanimously.
Under the Franco-German proposal, all relevant chapters would be opened once the European Commission considers the time is right.
Merz noted earlier Friday that no new members have joined the EU for 13 years. "That shows that the failures lie on the side of the European Union too; And today we want to overcome them."
He said he hoped the summit would reach joint conclusions that could then be implemented in Brussels.
Long wait for membership
Most of the Western Balkan countries have been waiting years, and in some cases decades, to join the EU.
North Macedonia has been pursuing membership for 22 years, while Kosovo has sought closer integration for four years but has not yet obtained official candidate status because five EU member states do not recognize its independence.
Montenegro is regarded as the most advanced candidate and hopes to conclude accession negotiations next year, potentially paving the way for membership by 2030.
A second EU-Moldova summit is scheduled to take place in Brussels on June 22.
