{"id":277,"date":"2026-04-28T15:29:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T15:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/28\/eu-enlargement-is-often-deeply-political-as-ukraine-and-montenegro-show\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T15:29:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T15:29:59","slug":"eu-enlargement-is-often-deeply-political-as-ukraine-and-montenegro-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/28\/eu-enlargement-is-often-deeply-political-as-ukraine-and-montenegro-show\/","title":{"rendered":"EU enlargement is often deeply political \u2013 as Ukraine and Montenegro show"},"content":{"rendered":"

The EU formally unblocked<\/a> a \u20ac90 billion (\u00a378 billion) loan for Ukraine on April 23 after Hungary and Slovakia dropped their opposition. This move came over a week after defeat in parliamentary elections brought the 16-year tenure of Hungary\u2019s prime minister, Viktor Orb\u00e1n, to an end. He will be replaced by P\u00e9ter Magyar of the pro-Europe Tisza party.<\/p>\n

But at a summit simultaneously taking place in Cyprus, EU leaders struggled to agree<\/a> on a membership timeline for Ukraine. This is despite the exceptional pace of the war-torn candidate country\u2019s accession-related reforms. The hesitation of EU member states<\/a> also comes even though the bloc has prioritised its enlargement agenda since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, another candidate country, Montenegro, is making progress on joining the bloc. Ambassadors from all EU member states said on April 22 that they had decided<\/a> to set up an \u201cad hoc working party\u201d to draft an accession treaty for the Balkan nation. The president of the European Council, Ant\u00f3nio Costa, described this as \u201ca big step\u201d towards membership.<\/p>\n

Montenegro wants to become the EU\u2019s 28th member by 2028, concluding a process that began when it applied nearly two decades ago. It is aiming to close formal negotiations by the end of 2026 so the accession treaty can then be adopted and ratified by each of the EU\u2019s 27 member states.<\/p>\n

However, despite this formal progress, there are reservations<\/a> about the quality of the reforms Montenegro is carrying out to align with EU standards. These reservations relate to the country\u2019s efforts to combat corruption, ensure judicial independence and guarantee a free and pluralistic media environment. <\/p>\n

The accession treaty is thus expected to include extensive transitional arrangements, a period after accession during which a new member does not fully participate in certain EU programmes and policies. This will give Montenegro time to adapt.<\/p>\n

\n \"A<\/a>
\n Four frontrunners currently stand out in the EU membership queue: Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine.<\/span>
\n European Union, 2025<\/a>, CC BY-NC-ND<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Formally, EU enlargement is a merit-based process driven by a candidate country\u2019s compliance with political, economic and legal standards. But politics play a role, too. This is showcased by the contrasting progress Ukraine and Montenegro have made towards EU membership.<\/p>\n

Montenegro\u2019s small size and membership of Nato make consensus among member states on its accession relatively easy to achieve. The same cannot be said for Ukraine. Its larger size, wartime context and the scale of its potential accession make Ukraine a far more contentious decision for member states.<\/p>\n

Politicisation of enlargement<\/h2>\n

The politicisation of the enlargement process, where individual member states shape the accession process in line with their domestic preferences, is perhaps the main factor explaining why the EU has struggled to replicate Montenegro\u2019s progress across other candidate countries. <\/p>\n

Despite their readiness to move forward with opening negotiations, Ukraine and neighbouring Moldova\u2019s formal accession progress has been stalled for several months. Decisions related to Ukraine\u2019s EU membership, in particular, have been vetoed multiple times by Orb\u00e1n. <\/p>\n

The outgoing Hungarian prime minister leveraged bilateral disputes<\/a> with Ukraine to justify blocking progress in accession talks. He linked concerns over energy security, as well as a disagreement over disrupted Russian oil supplies<\/a> through Ukraine, to the country\u2019s EU path. Orb\u00e1n used these disputes to veto the opening of negotiations.<\/p>\n

Even Montenegro may not enjoy a smooth path to EU membership if Croatia continues to link bilateral issues<\/a> such as maritime disputes to enlargement. The disagreement between the two countries primarily concerns the Prevlaka peninsula. This is a strategically significant area, which controls access to Montenegro\u2019s only deep-water bay and main naval base.<\/p>\n

According to Zvezdana Kova\u010d of the Centre for Civic Education, an organisation that monitors Montenegro\u2019s progress towards joining the EU, Croatia is a \u201cmanageable risk\u201d in Montenegro\u2019s accession process. In a 2025 interview with the New Union Post website, she noted that<\/a> Croatia\u2019s responses \u201care not driven by a strategic desire to block Montenegro\u201d and it retains \u201ca clear interest\u201d in having EU member states as its neighbours.<\/p>\n

Vetoes driven by bilateral disputes have contributed to disillusionment in some candidate countries. In North Macedonia, which first applied for EU membership in 2004, Bulgaria\u2019s continued veto over deep-seated language and identity disputes has helped bring<\/a> to power a government led by Hristijan Mickoski that no longer prioritises accession at all costs. <\/p>\n

The EU\u2019s varied responses to protests<\/a> and its contrasting relations with governments in Georgia and Serbia, two other candidate countries, have also alienated many particularly in Belgrade. <\/p>\n

While the EU\u2019s response to democratic backsliding in Georgia has been strict, targeting the ruling party by imposing visa restrictions<\/a> for diplomatic passport holders, the approach to Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s government in Serbia has been more cautious. Serbian opposition groups have reacted to this with dismay.<\/p>\n

If the EU sees enlargement as central to its security, decisions cannot risk being derailed by one or two member states. Moving from unanimity to qualified majority voting in enlargement-related decisions would help speed up decision-making in the Council.<\/p>\n

But, at the same time, the EU must ensure it does not admit countries that later fail to uphold its standards \u2013 a lesson drawn from Hungary\u2019s increasingly authoritarian trajectory over the past 16 years of Orb\u00e1n\u2019s rule. <\/p>\n

While Montenegro appears to be entering the final stage of its path to EU membership, disagreements over Ukraine\u2019s timeline show that some member states have not fundamentally shifted their approach to using enlargement as a geopolitical tool.<\/p>\n

For now, the EU is managing rather than overcoming politicisation in its accession process. This risks an enlargement policy that remains inconsistent and unreliable.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Iveri Kekenadze Gustafsson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The EU formally unblocked a \u20ac90 billion (\u00a378 billion) loan for Ukraine on April 23 after Hungary and Slovakia dropped their opposition. This move came over a week after defeat in parliamentary elections brought the 16-year tenure of Hungary\u2019s prime minister, Viktor Orb\u00e1n, to an end. He will be replaced by P\u00e9ter Magyar of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}