EU Offers Serbia Fresh Hope For Membership Talks, Montenegro Could Join In 2028

The European Union (EU) has offered Serbia a fresh opportunity to revive its stalled membership ambitions, saying the country could make progress if its next government strengthens democracy and fundamental rights. The announcement comes as the bloc prepares for its biggest expansion push in years, with Montenegro, Albania and Moldova emerging as frontrunners for membership.

In its annual enlargement report released on Wednesday, the European Commission said Montenegro could become the EU's 28th member in 2028, with accession negotiations potentially concluding by the end of 2026 and its membership treaty signed by June 2027. Albania could follow in 2029, after opening all its negotiation clusters and aiming to conclude talks by the end of 2027.

Moldova is targeting the completion of negotiations by early 2028, while Ukraine aims to meet the same milestone by December 2028. However, Kyiv needs to accelerate reforms and is unlikely to join before 2030.

Serbia's prospects have faced setbacks under populist President Aleksandar Vucic, who was defeated in last month's election. Although the country made technical progress in aligning its policies with EU standards, the commission found no substantive progress in accession negotiations, citing deteriorating democratic standards, low alignment with EU foreign policy and concerns over fundamental rights.

The commission also raised concerns over Serbia's obligations under the EU-facilitated dialogue with Kosovo. Its warning in April that Serbia could lose around 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in EU funding added pressure on Belgrade to reverse democratic backsliding.

However, the election victory of a student-led opposition movement has created an opportunity for political change. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the incoming government must strengthen democratic institutions and demonstrate commitment to European values.

In a new initiative, the EU has introduced country-specific accession roadmaps for its four leading candidates and plans gradual integration into energy, transport, digital and defence sectors even before full membership.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said recent reforms had brought enlargement closer to reality, while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described expansion as an investment in Europe's collective security.

Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Georgia and Turkey continue to face significant political and democratic obstacles to joining the bloc.