EU Enlargement Package: Montenegro Gets a Roadmap, Bosnia Drifts

The European Commission on 4 November adopted its 2026 Enlargement Package, giving indicative roadmaps with concrete milestones to the four most advanced candidates — Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine — and proposing a common framework for “gradual integration” of enlargement countries into parts of the EU's single market.

Montenegro close to the finish line

Montenegro has provisionally closed 21 negotiating chapters. The Commission said that, subject to agreement by member states, it could provisionally close the remaining chapters by the end of this year, and that work on the accession treaty is under way. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told reporters that the treaty could be signed in June 2027 at the earliest, according to European Western Balkans. The Commission stressed that continued reforms and broad political consensus in Podgorica remain essential.

Albania, Moldova and Ukraine

Albania opened its last negotiating cluster during the reporting period and met interim benchmarks for the rule-of-law chapters, which opens the way to provisionally closing four chapters. Its target is to complete negotiations by 2027. The Commission also noted that Albania saw its largest civic mobilisation since the democratic transition. Moldova and Ukraine each opened four clusters this year; the Commission's targets are early 2028 for Moldova and the end of 2028 for Ukraine.

Kos said 61 chapters had been opened or closed across candidates this year, with more than 30 still to come before year-end, and described it as the greatest enlargement progress in 25 years.

Gradual integration and security

The package proposes a framework for gradual integration in energy, transport, digital and defence. The Commission plans to launch dialogues on this with enlargement partners over the next six months. High Representative Kaja Kallas framed enlargement as a direct investment in Europe's security.

The rest of the region

Assessments elsewhere in the Western Balkans were cooler. North Macedonia adopted a public administration reform roadmap but has still not passed the constitutional amendments required to move forward. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Commission said, publicly supports EU integration while increasingly disengaging from its EU path. In Kosovo, reforms stalled amid an institutional crisis, though the Commission lifted its measures against Pristina after local governance in the north was transferred.

Serbia, where the report found no substantial progress over the past year, was told that its new government has a strong mandate to reverse negative trends. Our separate report covers the Serbia findings in detail.