Montenegro

The year 2024 marked an important moment in the European Union's enlargement process, as it oversaw significant progress, particularly in the case of Ukraine, Moldova and Montenegro, but also persistent challenges in the case of certain countries. This paper analyses the opportunities and challenges in advancing the EU enlargement process after 2024, explores the interlink between EU integration and democratization, enlargement and EU’s internal reform, geostrategic interests and political transformation, and proposes a viable path forward for maintaining the EU’s credibility and influence in the candidate countries.

The prospect of EU enlargement by the end of the mandate of the future European Commission looks more optimistic than at any time in the last decade. And barring the full membership of one new state, it is realistic to expect that at least one country will have concluded membership negotiations by the end of this decade and is just waiting for an acceptance date. Jana Juzová, a senior research fellow at EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Radio Slobodna Evropa.

In the next entry of the Eastern Monitor series, our Marko Stojić deals with European Commission's reports on the Western Balkans and the potential candidate countries from the area.

Our Alexandr Lagazzi and Michal Vít, in a joint policy paper, focused on Chinese foreign policy and backdoor-deals diplomacy in the Western Balkans. Following on-the-ground research on the actual implementation of investment projects in Serbia and other Western Balkans countries, the paper analyzes the impact of Chinese influence in the region.

Our research fellow Michal Vít was a guest on the TV3, where he commented the Montenegro's entry into NATO as the latest member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization.