PODGORICA/TIRANA – If Albania and Montenegro stay on course, their accession to the EU may be more than a regional affair – it could tilt the balance of European geopolitics.
Danish European Affairs Minister Marie Bjerre, 39, has visited all 27 EU capitals. Now her focus is outward. Euractiv joined her in Podgorica and Tirana this week, when she signalled a shift in EU thinking: enlargement is no longer just about reforms. It’s about power.
“Of course it’s merit-based,” Bjerre tells me as we soak in the last rays of sun before heading back north again. “But it’s also political. Europe needs to be stronger, and therefore bigger.”
Come July, Denmark takes over the rotating EU presidency and Bjerre will sit at the end of the table when EU member states meet to discuss matters such as budget, cohesion policy and, most notably, enlargement.
Bjerre says she will use the chair “actively” – not neutrally – to push enlargement forward.
She’s not alone. European Council chief António Costa recently called Albania and Montenegro the front-runners. A credible fast track for these two may send shockwaves through the rest of the Balkans.
Montenegro is currently leading the charge, but the push to the finish line is not without obstacles. “Vucic will try to sabotage our progress,” warned Ivan Vuković, an opposition MP chairing the European affairs committee, during a meeting with the Danish delegation. Still, the EU prospect remains rare common ground in Montenegrin politics.
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