Balkan EU Accession: Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia — 2026-09-26
Montenegro's fast-tracked EU accession has hit procedural turbulence: its September intergovernmental conference was postponed to October amid resistance from several member states, with Spain's language dispute and unresolved bilateral issues with Croatia threatening its 2028 targets. Meanwhile, the European Commission is preparing to formally endorse Albania's goal of closing negotiations by end-2027 in a new enlargement roadmap, while Bulgaria tells North Macedonia that EU progress still depends on fulfilling constitutional obligations ahead of von der Leyen's visit.
Balkan EU Accession: Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia — 2026-09-26
Top developments
Montenegro's chapter closings delayed; September IGC moved to October
Montenegro will close no negotiating chapters this September after several member states withheld consent — some citing technical reasons; reports by Srpske Novine and Pravda Balkan also point to reservations over the conduct of Montenegrin politicians around the death and funeral of Ratko Mladić. The intergovernmental conference once announced for September has been moved to October, with the number of chapters to close still open; DW-expert Andrijana Popović (via una.rs) says it is procedural slowdown rather than a formal "blockade." This directly threatens Podgorica's plan to close all remaining chapters by end-2026 and become the EU's 28th member by 2028.
Croatia's unresolved disputes put Montenegro's 2028 timeline at risk
Euronews reports (Sept 24) that Montenegro's 2028 accession is at risk unless it swiftly resolves bilateral disputes with Croatia over war crimes, maritime borders, and property claims, with Zagreb still blocking key negotiating chapters. Brussels Signal similarly warns that wartime grievances threaten Montenegro's accelerated timetable as it races to wrap up membership talks.
Commission poised to endorse Albania's 2027 negotiation-finishing deadline
The European Commission is preparing a roadmap expected to formally back Tirana's goal of completing accession negotiations by end-2027 (targeting December 2027), including a list of key deliverables Albania must prioritise to finish on time — a potential major morale boost after Albania received its IBAR for Chapters 23 and 24 in May 2026 and closed its first three chapters in July.
Spain's language dispute threatens Montenegro's accession
New Union Post (Sept 25) reports that Spain is pushing recognition of linguistic rights as Montenegro nears accession; EPC's López Domènech warned that "enlargement should stop being used as a battlefield for national agendas." Another bilateral stumbling block for the frontrunner in the race to join by 2028.
North Macedonia: Sofia shuts door on changing conditions; Skopje seeks guarantees from Brussels
Bulgaria says it remains open to constructive dialogue but insists progress toward the EU depends on North Macedonia fulfilling its assumed obligations — effectively rejecting renegotiation of the constitutional demand. Skopje's leadership (Siljanovska, Mickoski, Mutunski) has intensified EU contacts ahead of Ursula von der Leyen's visit, calling for greater EU involvement, and Commissioner Marta Kos has again told BNT that North Macedonia must make the constitutional changes and include Bulgarians in the constitution to continue on the EU path. One idea floated in Skopje — constitutional amendments passed with delayed effect — would give Macedonia guarantees against "new traps."
Local view
Montenegrin/Serbian media frame the delay around the Mladić connotations and a "procedural slowdown" by the Netherlands (Srpske Novine, nova.rs, una.rs), while eupravozato.mondo.rs reports that Montenegro has "practically fulfilled obligations" for closing Chapters 23 and 24 after presenting rule-of-law results in Brussels — the key IBAR-domain chapters. In Macedonian media, telma.com.mk describes Sofia as closing the door on changing conditions while Skopje seeks guarantees from Brussels; Mia.mk reports Deputy PM Bekim Sali saying all countries consulted view the proposed EU enlargement strategy positively, and that the 25th EU–North Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee backed the country's European path based on objective, measurable progress. In Albania, hashtag.al and Euronews Albania highlight the Commission's December-2027 target as confirmation of Tirana's own timeline.
Context & numbers
Extension Commissioner Marta Kos, in a fresh interview on Talking Europe, repeated her "class" framing: "Moldova is the best performer in my class," and said frontrunner Montenegro could finish technical negotiations at year-end and "become a member in 2028." The EUobserver commentary notes von der Leyen's State of the Union address left the question of Montenegro — the accession frontrunner — unanswered, even as the Western Balkans featured in it. On chapters closed: Montenegro stood at 18 of 33 as of July 2026 (Chapters 8 and 29 closed then), with Albania having closed its first three chapters in July. No fresh figures for Albania or North Macedonia chapter counts were published this week.
On the radar
- The postponed Montenegro intergovernmental conference, now expected in October — watch how many chapters are provisionally closed and whether Spain, Croatia, and the Netherlands drop reservations.
- The Commission's imminent enlargement roadmap formally backing Albania's 2027 deadline and technical closings for Montenegro by year-end.
- von der Leyen's announced visit to Skopje and whether Brussels offers guarantees to bridge the Bulgaria constitutional impasse.
- Rumored idea of including the Balkans in Schengen as amembership-adjacent confidence-builder, floated in a Balkan Insight op-ed (Sept 25) — worth watching as a consolation track if 2028 membership slips.
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