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Montenegro pursues values-driven EU enlargement process

Published

12 months ago

February 4, 2025

Montenegro pursues values-driven EU enlargement process

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

The President of Montenegro outlines four scenarios in which candidate countries may engage with EU enlargement, with only one – in which both sides play their role fully in the democratisation process – is ideal.

It is encouraging that one of the seven priorities of the new European Commission explicitly focuses on enlargement, envisioning a Europe that is not only larger but also stronger on the world stage.

From the perspective of candidate countries, we are encouraged by the renewed momentum in Brussels and across the EU. This momentum has sparked a genuine appetite for new member states, and I find this inspiring. When I was elected President of Montenegro last year, I set an ambitious yet achievable goal: Montenegro, as a frontrunner among the candidate countries, to become the 28th EU member state by 2028.

Montenegro is the country that already holds NATO membership, has been in line with the EU’s common foreign and security policy for the last decade, has the euro as a currency (though unilaterally), and what I like to stress: has a strong civil sector and free, independent media. The country naturally has challenges and political turbulence, as any other democratic, pluralistic society has, but these are part of a democratisation process, rather than the consequence of its failure.

The reforms in Montenegro have been strongly driven by the promise of EU membership and the legitimacy that political parties derive from it. In fact, most, if not all, political parties in Montenegro are publicly committed to EU integration. Although one may question the sincerity of these commitments and whether they are merely declarative or truly substantive, nevertheless, considering that more than 80 percent of the population supports EU membership, it is clear why EU accession is such an important source of political legitimacy in Montenegrin politics.

However, the transformative power of the EU pathway is not unique to Montenegro; we have seen similar effects in other countries—Croatia (our only approximate neighbour that is already a member), Slovenia, another country with whom we shared a joint history for some time, as well as many other countries throughout Central and Eastern Europe. During my previous career as an economist at the EBRD, I observed first-hand the EU’s transformative power in these countries, a power unmatched by the influence of any other external actors.

In considering how enlargement might unfold, there are four main scenarios, each with lasting consequences for both the EU and the candidate countries:

Scenario One: The candidate country fails to utilize the EU accession process for democratic or institutional progress, and as a result, the EU does not admit it. The outcome is a clear lose-lose, leaving the EU with incomplete democracies at its borders and the candidate country without the benefits of EU membership, with de-democratisation forces taking the lead forward. It goes without saying that this scenario is also welcomed by the EU’s adversaries, who can then fully exert their influence.

Scenario Two: The candidate country uses the accession process productively—building institutions and advancing democratic standards—yet is still not accepted by the EU. History shows that this scenario often leads to regression and the reversal of democratic gains. Here, too, both sides ultimately lose in the long run. Yet some may be more capable of continuing along a positive path and building a stable democracy rooted in the rule of law. Unfortunately, history teaches us otherwise.

Scenario Three: The candidate country shows insufficient democratic progress, yet the EU admits it anyway based solely on geopolitical considerations. Some advocate for this approach, regardless of the state of reforms. While this might appear to satisfy both the EU’s enlargement drive and the candidate countries’ ambitions, especially for bigger sources of funding for development, in reality, it is not sustainable. Over the long term, both the EU and the country suffer, as core values like the rule of law and effective governance are sidelined. Moreover, this scenario could also benefit adversaries, providing them with opportunities to exert influence within the EU.

Scenario Four (The Win-Win Scenario): Both parties do their part. The candidate country leverages the accession process to achieve genuine democratic progress and build robust institutions, while also depoliticizing its public administration, enabling a free media environment, and focusing on sustainable economic development, and then is welcomed into the EU. This is the ideal outcome—one that ensures shared growth, resilience, and stability. It is this scenario that I believe we must all strive to achieve.

This is precisely what I envision for Montenegro. We have to use the EU accession process—this powerful external anchor—to drive reforms and fortify our democracy, ensuring that we join the EU as a fully prepared and committed member state. It is therefore essential to make the most of the accession process now.

For this aim, enlargement should not only be about financial gain—as there are countless global avenues for attracting investment with perhaps fewer conditions required. What we should value most about the EU is the set of principles it upholds. We seek to build a society anchored in the rule of law, good governance, and equal opportunities. These core values make EU membership a goal worth pursuing.

As President of Montenegro, I am committed to guiding my country through this critical phase of our European journey. I hope that both the EU and candidate countries will work together to achieve a truly win-win scenario—one that not only enhances the Union’s strength and unity but also helps candidates become responsible, democratic members of the European family.

I am deeply convinced that Montenegro’s accession to the EU is a political milestone greater than itself; it would show that the process is alive, that reforms truly pay off, that new political culture pays off, and could become a success story and an example for all other candidate countries, if we all commit to the genuine reform agenda ahead.

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World

Israeli forces kill 12 Palestinians across Gaza, attacks reported in Rafah

Published

1 hour ago

January 31, 2026

Press Room

Israeli forces kill 12 Palestinians across Gaza, attacks reported in Rafah

Multiple attacks across the besieged enclave a day before Israel is expected to reopen the Rafah border crossing.

Published On 31 Jan 2026

At least 12 Palestinians, half of them children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since dawn, a day before the Rafah crossing is due to reopen.

An Israeli air strike on Saturday on a tent sheltering displaced people in the al-Mawasi area to the northwest of Khan Younis city killed at least seven Palestinians, including three children, medical sources told Al Jazeera.

Rafah reopening

Residents in the border town of Rafah also reported several air attacks in areas under Israeli control. Israel is due to reopen the Rafah crossing, which links Gaza with Egypt, on Sunday for the first time since May 2024.

The opening of the key entry point is part of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. It was meant to open during the first phase of the ceasefire, but Israel refused to do so until the body of its last remaining captive was found.

Israel on Saturday said it would only allow a “limited movement of people” who have received security clearance by Israel to enter and exit. No aid or humanitarian supplies will be allowed to enter.

“Only those who fled during the past two years are allowed to come back,” Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud explained. “Those who are born outside the Gaza Strip are not going to be allowed to come back.”

Hamas responded to the Rafah announcement by calling for Israel to allow movement in and out of Gaza “without restrictions”, and urged it to adhere to all aspects of the ceasefire agreement.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 71,600 Palestinians since October 7, 2023.

(Al Jazeera)

World

Video: Canada’s Prime Minister Meets ‘Heated Rivalry’ Star on Red Carpet

Published

11 hours ago

January 30, 2026

Press Room

Video: Canada’s Prime Minister Meets ‘Heated Rivalry’ Star on Red Carpet

new video loaded: Canada’s Prime Minister Meets ‘Heated Rivalry’ Star on Red Carpet

The actor Hudson Williams gave Prime Minister Mark Carney a fictional Canada Olympic Team fleece jacket that his character wore on “Heated Rivalry,” which has become a global phenomenon.

By Axel Boada

January 30, 2026

World

Ukraine races to bolster air defenses as Putin’s strike pause nears end

Published

12 hours ago

January 30, 2026

Press Room

Ukraine races to bolster air defenses as Putin’s strike pause nears end

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Ukraine is racing to reinforce its air defenses as a brief pause in Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities approaches its expiration, and military and diplomatic experts warn the move may do little to change conditions on the battlefield and could ultimately strengthen Moscow’s negotiating position.

Earlier Friday, President Donald Trump said at the White House, “I think we’re getting very close to getting a settlement,” expressing optimism about the upcoming Russia-Ukraine talks. “Zelenskyy and Putin hate each other, and it makes it very difficult, but I think we have a good chance of getting it settled.”

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin agreed to a personal request from Trump to halt airstrikes on Kyiv until Feb. 1 to create what it described as favorable conditions for negotiations. Ukrainian officials stressed there is no formal ceasefire.

TRUMP SAYS PUTIN AGREED TO HALT KYIV STRIKES FOR ONE WEEK AMID BRUTAL COLD

Veterans of Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade serve free hot meals to residents without electricity in a residential area of Kyiv Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Danylo Antoniuk/AP)

As temperatures in Kyiv are expected to plunge to minus-26 degrees Celsius beginning Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is moving to strengthen short-range air defenses against drones to protect frontline cities in the south and northeast.

“Protection against Russian drones must be reinforced in our cities, such as Kherson and Nikopol, as well as in the border communities of the Sumy region, where the Russians have essentially set up an ongoing ‘safari’ against civilians,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Firefighters work at the site of a private enterprise hit by an overnight Russian missile strike amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Jan. 30, 2026. (Reuters)

Despite the pause, Russian lawmakers and regional leaders have publicly urged escalation. Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said deputies are calling for the use of more powerful “weapons of retribution,” while Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said he opposed negotiations altogether.

Against that backdrop, experts told Fox News Digital the pause appears far more symbolic than transformative.

Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward, a retired Navy SEAL and deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, said the halt in strikes reflects political signaling rather than a military shift.

PUTIN CALLS TRUMP’S PEACE PLAN A ‘STARTING POINT’ AS HE WARNS UKRAINE TO PULL BACK OR FACE ‘FORCE’

Icicles hang from balconies at an apartment building damaged by a drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Jan. 24, 2026. (Viacheslav Madiievskyi/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“It’s symbolic in the sense of the dialogue and where we are in the negotiations,” Harward told Fox News Digital. “President Trump wants to illustrate to the U.S. that his relationship with Putin delivers results. This is a validation of that relationship, which could be an indicator of where the overall negotiations are on ending the war.”

Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition and a former senior State Department and U.S. Mission to the United Nations official, said Russia’s agreement should not be misread as a move toward peace.

“While I am certain that Ukrainian civilians welcome any brief pause, they also aren’t holding their breath because Putin’s war machine will not stop until his calculus is changed on the risks of continuing his war,” Filipetti said.

TRUMP TOUTS ‘TREMENDOUS PROGRESS’ BUT SAYS HE’LL MEET PUTIN AND ZELENSKYY ‘ONLY WHEN’ PEACE DEAL IS FINAL

This photograph taken on Jan. 23, 2024 shows graves, most of which are of the victims killed during the Russian strike last year on a shop and café in Groza village, at the cemetery in Groza, Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)

She added that the short duration of the pause leaves Ukraine exposed.

“Given how short the pause is and the duplicity of Russia saying it agreed to a week-long pause that expires in two days, this does not meaningfully change any conditions on the battlefield,” she said.

Harward said Ukraine could face diplomatic consequences once the pause expires.

“The risk to Ukraine is that this further weakens and isolates their role and position in the negotiations,” he said.

Zelenskyy has also warned that Ukraine’s ability to defend civilians has been strained by delays in Western funding. He said European allies delayed payments under the PURL weapons purchase program, leaving Ukraine without Patriot air defense missiles ahead of recent Russian strikes that knocked out power across parts of Kyiv.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov at the Naval Base of the Black Sea Fleet Sept. 23, 2014, in Novorossiysk, Russia. (Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)

“This is a critical issue for protecting civilians and Ukrainian cities and Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the brutally cold winter months,” Filipetti said. “As President Zelenskyy has said, there will be no electricity and therefore no heat for civilians if they don’t have enough Patriot missiles to defend against Russia’s ballistic missiles.”

Harward noted that the problem extends beyond Ukraine.

“Air Defense has been in high demand globally, considering the threats from Russia and China,” he said. “Resources, expenses and the increased time to deliver and implement the capabilities add to the challenge.”

On whether the pause could open the door to broader de-escalation, both experts expressed caution.

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President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands at a news conference after a meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club Dec. 28, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“This tactical pause only serves to reinforce Russia’s negotiating position,” Harward said. “Putin is showing the world that he is willing to listen and respond. In return, he’ll want more support of his position and demands.”

“Only time will tell,” Filipetti said. “Diplomacy can always appear fruitless until there is a real deal. If this short pause, delivered by President Trump’s continued engagement and pressure on Putin, can be used to build additional progress in the trilateral talks, that would be a very positive outcome.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Efrat Lachter is an investigative reporter and war correspondent. Her work has taken her to 40 countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan. She is a recipient of the 2024 Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalism. Lachter can be followed on X @efratlachter.