EU Enlargement Reborn: Montenegro Targets 2028 Membership, Albania Aims to Close Negotiations in 2027
EU enlargement, dormant for nearly a decade, is moving again. Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, confirmed in late April 2026 that Montenegro and Albania are the clear frontrunners for the next wave of accession, with Montenegro projecting full EU membership by 2028 and Albania aiming to close accession negotiations by 2027. The two countries together represent the most credible test of whether the EU’s enlargement methodology — frozen for years by political fatigue and rule-of-law disputes — can still deliver.
Montenegro: the closer
Montenegro has been negotiating EU membership since 2012 — 14 years. It is the only candidate to have reached the most advanced negotiating stage, having met the interim benchmarks for chapters 23 and 24 (rule of law and fundamental rights) that unlock the closing process for all chapters. Podgorica has provisionally closed an unprecedented number of chapters in 2025 alone, with Minister for European Affairs Maida Gorcevic calling the closure of negotiations “the priority of the year.”
One bilateral obstacle remains: a maritime-border dispute with neighbouring Croatia, expected to be resolved as part of closing chapter 31 (foreign, security and defence policy). Montenegro is also chairing the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Podgorica in June 2026 and the Berlin Process throughout the year — symbolic recognition of its frontrunner status.
Albania: the rapid riser
Albania began accession negotiations only in 2020 but has made strikingly faster progress than long-running candidates such as Serbia or North Macedonia. Tirana hopes to finish negotiations in 2027 and join the EU by 2030. The European Commission is expected to issue a positive assessment report on rule-of-law reforms in the coming months, opening the final stage of negotiations.
Albania faces, however, a serious corruption challenge. Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj was detained in 2025 on charges of corruption and money laundering. Former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku faced separate corruption proceedings leading to her temporary removal. The National Agency for Information Society (AKSHI), the government’s main digital body, is under investigation for alleged tender-rigging. Whether Albania’s anti-corruption institutions can hold the line against entrenched political interests is now central to its accession credibility.
The wider picture
The two frontrunners stand out from a wider Western Balkans landscape that remains divided into “good” and “bad” students. Serbia, the most advanced candidate by chapter count, is described by the Commission as a backslider on rule of law and democratic standards; protests in Novi Sad and other cities entered their second winter in 2026. North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are stalled. Kosovo remains a potential candidate without formal status. Beyond the Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova are running on a parallel and politically far more difficult track.
What changes for the EU
Montenegro and Albania are small countries — together fewer than 4 million inhabitants. Their accession would not, in the Commission’s view, require institutional reform of the existing EU structure. Both already cooperate closely with the EU on defence (both are NATO members and have contributed to allied operations in Latvia and Bulgaria), on the green transition (Albania runs nearly 100% on hydropower; Montenegro operates the only candidate-country emissions-trading system aligned with the EU acquis), and on the Common Regional Market in the Western Balkans. The next EU enlargement package, expected in late 2026, will frame the timetable for the final stretch.
