Macron and Merz Table New Enlargement Proposal at Tivat Summit as Montenegro Eyes 2028 Entry

TIVAT, Montenegro - On the shores of the Bay of Kotor, in a setting that would have seemed improbable a decade ago, the leaders of the European Union gathered last week to tell the Western Balkans that the waiting room is finally being dismantled - or at least redecorated.

The EU-Western Balkans summit of 5 June, hosted by Montenegro in the marina town of Tivat, was <cite index="12-3">the most high-profile enlargement gathering in years, with EU leaders including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in attendance.</cite> The political weight alone marked a departure from the pattern of recent years.

<cite index="12-4">For most of the past decade, the twice-yearly gatherings produced communiqués that restated commitments without advancing them.</cite> This time there was a concrete joint proposal on the table. <cite index="16-1,16-2">A new approach to enlargement was tabled by Macron and Merz at the summit</cite>, a so-called non-paper that analysts in Brussels are already treating as a significant shift in the Franco-German posture toward expansion.

<cite index="16-4">The Tivat proposal aims to address two questions: what to offer to the Western Balkans when they are ready for accession but are blocked by EU member states, and, in the best-case scenario, what could be offered to the rest of the region and Moldova once Montenegro and Albania cross the finish line.</cite>

Montenegro dominated the political symbolism of the day. <cite index="13-16,13-17">Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović stated that the goal of Montenegro becoming the 28th member of the EU by 2028 has become "a national project, a project of national unity," adding that "today, I can say with full confidence that this goal is realistic and achievable."</cite> He described the summit, in remarks to journalists at the closing press conference, as the most important diplomatic gathering in the country's history.

The institutional groundwork for Montenegrin accession has moved faster than most outsiders have noticed. <cite index="17-2,17-3">In April, EU ambassadors endorsed the establishment of an ad hoc working party to draft Montenegro's accession treaty, which began its work in May. Montenegro is considered the most advanced country in the enlargement process, with the aim of closing all negotiating chapters by the end of 2026.</cite>

European Council President António Costa arrived at the summit having spent the previous week touring all six Western Balkans capitals. <cite index="10-6,10-7">Costa underlined that the accession of the Western Balkans partners remains a priority and a crucial geopolitical investment, and encouraged all partners to use the current momentum to accelerate their progress on the European Union path.</cite>

The geopolitical subtext was impossible to ignore. <cite index="12-7,12-8">Russia's presence in the region - through energy ties, political networks in Belgrade, and disinformation operations - gives Brussels a stronger incentive to anchor these countries firmly within the EU orbit, while Chinese infrastructure investment via Belt and Road adds another layer of competition for regional alignment.</cite>

Serbia's trajectory remains the summit's unresolved question. Von der Leyen, pressed on the matter by Serbian journalists, was direct. <cite index="13-28,13-29,13-30,13-31">She said the accession process is merit-based, that the rule of law and media freedom are its cornerstones, and that Serbia knows exactly what reforms must be delivered - judicial reforms, the REM council, alignment on common foreign and security policy. "If Serbia delivers on these reforms, then Cluster 3 can be opened. If Serbia delivers, we will deliver," she said.</cite>

<cite index="11-5">This was the second EU-Western Balkans summit in six months, following the gathering in Brussels last December</cite> - a cadence that itself signals the renewed priority Brussels assigns to the process.

The Merz-Macron non-paper has drawn measured scrutiny. Analysts at Argumentum noted that <cite index="16-11,16-12,16-13">whether new meeting formats would generate substantial added value remains an open question, given that candidate countries already engage with EU institutions through multiple established channels, and multiplying formats does not necessarily translate into faster integration.</cite>

For Montenegro, the philosophical answer to that scepticism may lie in the working party already drafting treaty language in a committee room somewhere in Brussels. Paper and momentum, on this occasion, appear to be moving in the same direction.

Sources cited:
- EU Insider (https://www.euinsider.eu/news/eu-western-balkans-summit-tivat-june-2026)
- European Western Balkans (live coverage) (https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2026/06/05/eu-western-balkans-summit-in-tivat-live/)
- Argumentum (Albania) (https://www.argumentum.al/en/eu-western-balkans-summit-2026-new-impetus-for-the-enlargement-debate/)
- Insight EU Monitoring (https://ieu-monitoring.com/editorial/eu-and-western-balkans-push-enlargement-forward-as-brussels-eyes-faster-accession-path/1242805)
- European Commission / DG Enlargement (https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/president-von-der-leyen-eu-western-balkans-summit-montenegro-reaffirm-eus-commitment-region-2026-06-04_en)
- Council of the EU (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-summit/2026/06/05/)
- New Union Post (https://newunionpost.eu/2026/06/05/montenegro-eu-accession-western-balkans/)