Merz pushes EU enlargement – North Macedonia still held back by Bulgaria dispute
At the Western Balkans summit in Montenegro, the chancellor urged faster EU accession for the region. North Macedonia's path is slowed by its conflict with Bulgaria.
Archive image · Photo: Steffen Prößdorf / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) called for faster EU integration of the six Western Balkan states at the Berlin Process summit in Montenegro. “The Western Balkans must not become a place where great powers vie for influence,” Merz said on Thursday in Sveti Stefan. EU integration is a geopolitical imperative, he said, adding that Montenegro was “well on its way to joining the EU soon.” He added: “Others must follow, others will follow.”
For North Macedonia, the road to Brussels remains rocky. The country is “held back by the dispute with Bulgaria over historical, linguistic and constitutional issues,” the Berliner Zeitung wrote. ZDFheute also noted that despite major reform efforts, North Macedonia has repeatedly been blocked by its EU neighbours Bulgaria and Greece.
Montenegro has opened all 33 negotiating chapters; Prime Minister Milojko Spajić aims to conclude talks by the end of 2026 and join as the EU's 28th member in 2028. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said it was “inexplicable why six Western Balkan states should be treated worse than Ukraine or Moldova.” Austria takes over the chairmanship of the Berlin Process, launched by Angela Merkel in 2014, in 2027.