EU candidate leaders gathered in Brussels to discuss the future of EU enlargement and the path to membership. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos praised Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, and Moldova for their progress on reforms needed to join the bloc.
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic faced criticism over backsliding on rule of law and anti-corruption, while Moldova’s President Maia Sandu urged the EU to open all negotiation clusters by year-end.
Leaders from North Macedonia and Albania also highlighted their countries’ commitment to EU integration, with Albania using AI to speed up legislative alignment.
The summit highlighted both progress and ongoing challenges as the EU looks toward potential new members by 2030.
00:00And we're thrilled to have Maria Tadeo to join you for this conversation.
00:05Take it away, Maria.
00:07The last time we have enlarged it was 2013 with Croatia.
00:11And today the possibility, the realistic possibility exists that in the next years we will get new members.
00:20We have two clearly frontrunners or leaders in the process.
00:24We have two other countries where actually the development or progress has been huge in the last years.
00:34Albania and Montenegro, and of course then Ukraine and Moldova.
00:39Serbia, North Macedonia, you view as, also we should include Georgia at some point in that conversation,
00:44you view now as not doing as well? You would put them at the bottom?
00:49To some extent, you know, Serbia is more prepared than the countries I have mentioned before.
00:55But there was no progress or it was even backsliding.
00:59So this is what is very much important.
01:02It can be ready to some extent in some chapters of the negotiations, ready more than the others.
01:09But, you know, we have to really see the progress, especially on the rule of law, anti-corruption,
01:15media freedom, academic freedom, and these are actually the areas, the last three points where Serbia was backsliding.
01:22The majority of the citizens of the EU are supporting.
01:26And of course you say something has changed around...
01:28We expect from our candidates that they align in the trend their foreign and security policy with the European one.
01:37Serbia is really on the last place. So we have four members or four countries, candidates from the Western Balkans,
01:45having 100% fulfillment of the CFSP alignment. Ukraine is 99, Moldova is 98, Serbia is 61.
01:56One point. The other point is...
01:59Serbian politicians and media which are then following his lead should really stop accusing us, the European Union,
02:07that we are behind the protests in Serbia.
02:11Really, we are not.
02:13So this is clearly a lie.
02:15And there are many, many lies I could go on.
02:17And this should stop immediately.
02:19We are facing thousands of doubts from different member states because of our relationship with Beijing, with Moscow.
02:37I cannot and I'm not going to justify myself for talking with someone.
02:43I think it's really stupid and I'm not a pupil in an elementary school to tell you the truth.
02:48I believe that everybody should talk to each other.
02:52One question, if I may, sir, about the domestic situation.
02:56I really mean that we need many things to do regarding rule of law.
03:02I'm very ready to participate in that process or at least to be helpful to the government.
03:07And I think that Serbia has long legs and that we can overtake all the frontrunners of today
03:16and that we can join the European Union relatively soon.
03:19Thank you very much.
03:32What is it that you will be asking from them in priorities one, two, three that can be done over the next year?
03:37So specific matters that can move?
03:39Well, for now it's opening the negotiations on all the clusters as they have said in the report that we are ready.
03:46So this is what should happen.
03:47If it doesn't happen, President, would you consider that a failure of the EU before the end of the year?
03:51I don't want to think about failures.
03:53I want to believe that by the end of this year the EU is going to find solutions.
03:59For all of the clusters?
04:00For all the clusters.
04:01On meeting these closing benchmarks and of course the support that we might need for some of them.
04:07We are going to hear right after Moldova, of course, we are going to continue this conversation, of course, about the candidates.
04:13What's your take on it? But also what is the main...
04:16We are a part of European continent and we do believe that integration of Western Balkans in EU means added value for EU itself.
04:27And this means reunification on a sort of way of European continent.
04:34And I do think that the future of my country and the future of my nation, Macedonians, is within European Union.
04:43And therefore, despite all those humiliations and disappointments, and despite the current frustration which is inside of our citizens, we do share the same values.
04:55Another hurdle, another constraint imposed in front of us for change.
04:59Here we go, A.D. Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, thank you very much for joining us.
05:03We are the only country in this process to use artificial intelligence in the transfer of the acquis communautaire to our body of law.
05:14And to make of it the fastest process ever made in terms of not only translating but also analyzing the impact and drafting and preparing the whole legal packages for the approval in Parliament.
05:41So, we are trying to run as much as possible and to make as much as possible leapfrogs.
05:52There was 12 minutes with A.D. Rama, Prime Minister of Albania.
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