Merz, Macron push for faster EU enlargement at West Balkans summit

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for faster EU enlargement at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Montenegro, reported dpa.

"The European Union must show that it is capable of enlargement and willing to enlarge," Merz said on Friday at the opening of the meeting, which 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.

Merz and Macron travelled together to Tivat on the Adriatic coast with a joint proposal to bring the candidate countries closer to the EU more quickly.

Under their 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 that no new members had 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.

The countries concerned are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as Moldova, which borders Ukraine.

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.

(By Michael Fischer, Ansgar Haase and Gregor Mayer).