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The European Commission has planned a €3.2 billion package for Montenegro after its EU accession, confirming that Podgorica remains the most advanced candidate in the Western Balkans. Meanwhile, Albania continues negotiations, but still without a clear perspective for membership and without similar signals from Brussels...
The European Commission's decision to provide a financial package of 3.2 billion euros for Montenegro is not just a budgetary calculation. It is a clear political signal that Brussels considers Podgorica the country closest to membership in the European Union.
While Montenegro is discussing how it will administer the funds it will receive as a member state, Albania continues to be in the negotiation phase, without a clear calendar for membership and without a similar financial package reserved for the period after EU accession.
Both countries embarked on the path towards integration years ago, but the pace of reforms has produced different results. Montenegro opened negotiations with the European Union in 2012 and has opened all negotiating chapters, temporarily closing a significant part of them. Albania officially opened negotiations much later and is still in the process of reviewing and negotiating chapters, with a path that remains dependent on the fulfillment of reforms and the consensus of all member states.
There is no shortage of optimistic statements from European officials and authorities in Tirana for Albania, but so far there has been no decision comparable to that for Montenegro, to materialize in a financial package designed for its future status as a member state.
The difference is not just about funds. It reflects the level of confidence that European institutions have in each candidate's performance. The preliminary approval of a billion-euro package for Montenegro shows that Brussels is concretely planning its integration into the European Union budget.
In Albania, the challenge remains to accelerate justice reforms, strengthen the rule of law, fight corruption and organized crime, and meet the standards in the negotiating chapters. Only sustained progress in these areas can bring the country closer to the stage Montenegro is at today.
If Podgorica achieves its goal of membership in 2028, it could become the youngest state to join the European Union after Croatia. This development would also increase political pressure on other Western Balkan countries, including Albania, to accelerate the pace of reforms and negotiations.
The message coming from Brussels is clear: the enlargement process remains open, but the greatest benefits accrue to countries that manage to convince the European Union that they are truly ready for membership. For Albania, this means that the time for declarations must be accompanied by concrete results, so that the country does not fall behind in the regional race towards the EU./ Pamphlet
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