Merz backs Western Balkans EU bid as Montenegro nears accession deal

Summit at Sveti Stefan

Chancellor Friedrich Merz travelled to Montenegro on Thursday, 22 October 2026, to attend the Berlin Process summit, the format launched in 2014 on German initiative to bring the six Western Balkan states closer to EU membership. The meeting, held under the motto "Region in Motion - Owning the Change", took place at the Sveti Stefan resort on the Adriatic coast near Budva. Merz chaired it together with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker joined the poolside press conference. Spajić's papers blew into the resort pool during the briefing. It was Merz's second trip to Montenegro in five months, after an EU-Western Balkans summit held there in June.

Where accession stands

The European Commission, which steers the accession talks from Brussels, considers all conditions to be met, but member states have not yet named a date. Croatia, which joined the EU in 2013, has voiced reservations in recent weeks. Montenegro, the smallest of the six, wants to become the 28th EU member in 2028. Spajić expects his country to finish its accession negotiations by the end of this year, while other expectations point to completion next year at the latest. Merz told the summit that the process was moving again.

“We are back on course and on a good path in the enlargement process. Montenegro has its accession treaty almost finished.”

The Commission is expected to present a concrete timetable for future accessions and negotiations in the week of 26 October 2026.

A power struggle over the region

Merz warned that the western Balkans could become a contest between the EU, China and Russia, and urged the region to commit firmly to the EU path.

“The western Balkans must not become a place where major powers compete for influence.”

China offers loans for large infrastructure projects such as motorways, railway lines and tunnels, although the terms may prove less favourable than they appear. Serbia maintains close ties with Russia and is the only Western Balkan state that does not join EU sanctions against Moscow. In Bosnia, Milorad Dodik, leader of the Serb entity Republika Srpska, is deepening divisions in the country with Russian help. The reports link the long waits for membership partly to the growing influence of Beijing and Moscow. As host, Spajić asked the EU to apply the same unity it shows toward Ukraine to enlargement.

“The EU must bring the same clarity to the enlargement process.”

Conditions, reform and a joint proposal

Merz told the candidates that the EU had done its part and that reforms and political will had to come from them. In June, Germany and France put forward a joint position paper proposing first integration steps before full membership. Countries that meet certain criteria could receive privileged access to the single market or observer seats in EU institutions. Christoph Beeck, southeast Europe spokesman for the Eastern Committee of German Business, said the chancellor's attendance was a clear signal that the federal government backs EU integration of the western Balkans. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos called Montenegro the frontrunner of the accession process. Merz added that others would follow Montenegro's path, and the Commission's timetable is expected in the week of 26 October 2026.