Commissioner Marta Kos addresses the challenges of enlargement with the ambassadors of the candidate countries in Madrid

Eduardo González The progress and remaining challenges in the accession process of the Western Balkans and Moldova and Ukraine were the focus of a meeting held this Monday, May 4, in Madrid between the ambassadors of the candidate countries and the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos of Slovenia. The meeting was organized by Prestomedia and the European Commission's office in Spain. "In the last year, I have often thought of Spain as an example of when Europe experienced a decisive moment and did the right things," the Commissioner stated at the beginning of her address at the event "A review of 40 years of Spain's membership in the European Union and the challenges facing Europe today," held at the Club Financiero Génova in Madrid. "With the end of the dictatorships in Southern Europe, still in the midst of the Cold War, we realized that we could only preserve peace, freedom, and prosperity in Europe if we worked together," she recalled. Since then, she continued, “Spain has been thriving, has the highest life expectancy in the European Union, and is a bastion of civil rights” thanks to the efforts of the Spanish people, but also to “a European framework that rewarded reforms with investment, stability, and growth.” [caption id="attachment_142677" align="alignnone" width="750"] Photo: European Union 2026\ Fernando Bizerra[/caption] “We have seen this same story again in Central and Eastern Europe, in Poland, in the Baltic states, in my country, Slovenia,” she recalled. “This remains the model we want to replicate in our current candidate countries,” she affirmed. According to the Commissioner, “geopolitics has brought a new urgency to enlargement,” which is now presented “as part of a European security strategy.” At the beginning of the century, the enlargement process was viewed “primarily through an economic lens,” but “today, in fact, we appreciate how important this is for our security and for building a Europe that can act independently in this world,” she emphasized. According to Kos, “in the last year and a half, we have made more progress in the enlargement process than in the previous fifteen years” thanks to “the progress of four countries—Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, and Moldova—which have shown a strong determination to achieve this correctly and quickly.” She added that “the elections in Hungary have given new impetus to our work” because they have allowed us “to give the green light to the €90 billion donation in support of Ukraine, approve a new package of sanctions against Russia, and work towards the formal start of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.” In this context, the Commissioner recalled that “two weeks ago, the EU Member States came together to initiate Montenegro’s accession treaty to the EU.” “This was the first time since 2009; so, after almost 17 years, since the EU began initiating an accession treaty for Croatia, there is a historic window of opportunity to move forward,” she continued. “I hope that the positive example of Montenegro, but also of Albania, will inspire the rest of the region to follow the same path of reform,” she added. “There is a place for all the Western Balkans in our Union,” she affirmed. “We would like to move towards accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as possible,” she added. “We also continue to support Serbia on its path to the European Union, but we expect the authorities to review the laws that affect judicial independence and to restore media independence,” and to continue “making progress with Kosovo,” she stated. [caption id="attachment_142668" align="alignnone" width="750"] Kos with the CEO of Prestomedia, Yago González, and the director of the Representation of the European Commission in Spain, Daniel Calleja y Crespo. / Photo: European Union 2026\ Fernando Bizerra[/caption] [caption id="attachment_142680" align="alignnone" width="750"] Kos with the CEO of Prestomedia, Yago González. / Photo: European Union 2026\ Fernando Bizerra[/caption] Furthermore, Marta Kos warned that, unlike what happened in the 1980s or the first decade of this century, there are currently “forces that want to disrupt enlargement,” “external and disruptive” forces linked to Russia and to “populist forces within our countries.” In this context, the Commission’s objective is to “make our offer to candidates more credible” in order to “integrate them more quickly and decisively.” “We are talking about integration, particularly in areas that offer protection and immediate benefits to citizens, such as energy, infrastructure, security, and, of course, the single market, but also the structures we are building to defend freedom and democracy,” she explained. “We will need the experience of all those who have lived through the success story of enlargement,” she affirmed. “We will work together to do it again in this increasingly challenging global environment, because the simple truth that we will only preserve peace, freedom, and prosperity in Europe if we work together remains unchanged,” she concluded. North Macedonia In his address, the Ambassador of North Macedonia, Edmond Ademi, affirmed that his country has demonstrated, “in recent years,” its commitment to the reforms necessary for accession and its “full alignment with the policies of the European Union.” “Enlargement has always been one of the most effective European strategic tools for promoting stability, reform, and convergence across the continent, and today this role is more relevant than ever,” he stated. “North Macedonia will continue to do its part, seriously, with commitment, and with a clear sense of direction,” he added. According to the ambassador, thanks to North Macedonia’s “very constructive” cooperation with the European Commission, the country is “intensifying efforts in areas such as the rule of law, public administration, and economic governance.” Furthermore, he continued, his country is “one hundred percent aligned” with the EU’s “foreign and security policy.” On the other hand, Ademi affirmed, regarding relations with Bulgaria, that North Macedonia trusts in “good-faith dialogue with the aim of finding a sustainable and mutually acceptable solution,” a situation which, he admitted, will face the main obstacle of “political uncertainty in Bulgaria.” North Macedonia submitted its application for accession in 2004, received candidate status in 2005, and on July 19, 2022, following a complex preliminary agreement with Bulgaria (related to identity disputes), the negotiation process began. Montenegro Next, the Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of Montenegro, Milena Veljovic, affirmed that, “since regaining independence in 2006,” her country “made a clear and concrete decision to pursue the European process.” “The progress has been tangible: in December 2010, Montenegro became a candidate for the European Union's association agreement, negotiations with the European Union officially began in June 2012, and over the past two and a half years, we have achieved a significant number of chapters,” she explained. “With all negotiation chapters open and fourteen provisionally closed, Montenegro is recognized as the most advanced country in the negotiations with the European Union” and remains determined to “ensure continuity in the closed negotiation chapters,” she continued. All of this, she asserted, “gives us confidence that we will enter 2027 having concluded the negotiations and will be ready to join the European Union in 2028.” “More than 83 percent of our citizens believe in the European future, and we cannot let them down,” she warned. “In the field of foreign and security policy, Montenegro has demonstrated its commitment to European values through its full alignment with the European Union’s foreign and security policy,” Veljovic continued. Furthermore, Montenegro has committed to “strengthening bilateral relations with its neighbors and regional cooperation” and is prepared to assist in the accession of Moldova and Ukraine by sending advisors. Albania The Albanian ambassador, Entela Gjika, emphasized that “the European Union and its enlargement process have transformed nations, bringing prosperity, security, and resilience to all.” “For Albania, the European Union has always represented more than an institutional framework; it represents a shared space of values, democracy, the rule of law, human dignity, and opportunity,” she stressed. “This is the path that Albania is firmly committed to pursuing, and, in the future, we are determined to make it part not only of our foreign policy but also of our national identity and strategic future,” she declared. According to Gjika, “Albania has achieved a structural miracle in its accession negotiations with the European Union over the past six months, with the opening of all negotiation clusters,” and “has implemented some of the most ambitious reforms in its recent history,” with particular attention to “judicial reform” through strengthening judicial independence against corruption. “Albania is reinforcing the rule of law as the foundation of its democratic system,” she asserted. Regarding foreign policy and security, the ambassador stated that, “in an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, our country has consistently stood by the European Union in defending international law, stability, and collective security.” “This alignment is not merely symbolic; it reflects a strategic choice regarding Albania’s place in the world,” she added. Serbia During her address, Serbian Ambassador Irena Sarac affirmed that Belgrade is “fully committed to the European path and ready to work very hard to implement all the recommendations” established by the Commission, but cautioned that “it is important to preserve the credibility of the accession process and ensure that the alignment process proceeds with clear steps,” because all of this has “a significant impact” on “the level of public support.” In this regard, she asserted that Serbia is striving to align itself “with the European Union’s security policy as much as possible, taking into account the situation in the context of energy diversification, as well as the issue of territorial integrity, which I assume we all agree is paramount, especially in the current circumstances.” “The fact that, for more than four years, despite meeting the European Commission’s criteria and receiving a positive recommendation from the European Commission, there has been no formal progress in Serbia’s European integration process clearly indicates that, unfortunately, merit-based approval is not being applied in the case of the Republic of Serbia,” she lamented. Regarding the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Sarac asserted that “Serbia’s position has been very clear since the beginning of the conflict: we strongly support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea, which has been confirmed by our position at the UN and other international organizations.” Furthermore, the ambassador affirmed that Serbia remains committed to dialogue with Kosovo “and we hope that the conditions for continuing the dialogue at a higher level will soon be created, despite the political instability in Pristina.” Bosnia and Herzegovina The ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vesna Andree Zaimovic, stated that around 70 percent of her country's citizens support the process of joining the European Union and noted that the EU remains "Bosnia and Herzegovina's most important market, accounting for more than 75% of total imports and 66% of exports in 2025." However, she acknowledged the challenges Bosnia and Herzegovina faces on its path to EU membership, such as constitutional norms, which "sometimes limit the effectiveness of governance and the implementation of reforms," and "the complex structure of a state composed of two entities and three constituent peoples, and with many levels of government," which makes "the reform and decision-making process exceptionally difficult and slow." In this context, she affirmed, "Spain's experience can serve as a valuable example." “Through its democratic transition 40 years ago, Spain succeeded in building a functional, sovereign, and prosperous European state, while preserving the decentralized constitutional order, respecting internal diversity, and safeguarding democratic memory,” she emphasized. For this reason, the ambassador warned that “the European Union should provide more support to Bosnia and Herzegovina in managing internal threats, particularly those directed against its sovereignty and territorial integrity.” “Because of its geopolitical position, Bosnia and Herzegovina has the potential to strengthen the security and stability of the European Union, and once it becomes an integral part of it, European leaders should continue to move forward against radical economic nationalism, separatism, and attempts to overthrow the sovereignty and constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because they threaten not only the stability of my country but also the broader stability of Europe,” she insisted. Moldova For his part, Eugeniu Revenco, Moldova's ambassador, recalled that his country “shares a 1,200-kilometer border with Ukraine and an 820-kilometer border with Romania.” “The Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014, of course, seriously affected security in the region, particularly in Moldova, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 brought war very close to our borders immediately,” he warned. In this context, Moldova benefited from the European Union's “positive response” to “this great challenge,” as evidenced by “the major refugee crisis in 2022” and the EU's border support through strengthened controls with Ukraine via Frontex. Under these circumstances, he emphasized, Moldova “opened accession negotiations with the help of the Spanish Presidency of the EU in December 2023.” According to Revenco, Moldova can help bring stability to the region, as demonstrated in the Transnistria conflict, where "we managed, during this border war, to maintain stability and peace and increase cooperation with the local population." The ambassador also highlighted that, despite "significant Russian interference," Moldova has been able to hold "two regular electoral cycles in 2020-2021 and 2024-2025" and its political institutions "have withstood the pressure." "The referendum on joining the European Union was a success," and Moldova's goal is "to finalize the negotiations this decade and become a member state in 2030," he concluded.

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