For a long time, the states of the Western Balkans – Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are considered potential members of the European Union, provided that the criteria appropriate for accession are met. Especially since such Balkan states as Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia and Croatia have already become members of the EU and NATO.
It is worth reminding that today, the six states of the Western Balkans are at various stages of negotiations with the European institutions in Brussels on joining the EU. And on February 25, 2018, the then head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, stated that all six Balkan countries will be able to become EU members in 2025, not only the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, which at that time were leaders in reforms.
Instead, on February 24, 2022, when Russian troops carried out a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, official Belgrade refused to join EU sanctions against the Russian Federation, and the level of Russian influence in both Serbia and Montenegro increased sharply, despite the fact that Podgorica consistently joined all EU sanctions packages against the Russian Federation.
Brussels has made a tough demand for Belgrade to synchronise its foreign and security policy with the EU, but so far Serbia refuses to do so, motivating its position by defending national economic interests. In turn, Montenegro has difficulties with the reform of the judicial system, the fight against corruption and political instability, because the frequent change of governments and noticeable political confrontations between the government and the president slow down the process of European integration.
The Republic of Albania has been an official candidate for joining the EU for a relatively long time. Moreover, at the beginning of 2025, European institutions gave high marks to the work carried out in Tirana on the way to the EU, as a result of which Albania unexpectedly broke out as a leader in European integration from among the countries of the Western Balkans.
However, already at the end of this year, disapproving reviews began to arrive from Brussels, since Albania never completed reforms in the spheres of the judiciary, public administration, the fight against corruption and organized crime. Moreover, several major corruption scandals took place in the country this year. Political tension and the lack of constructive dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties prevent the rapid implementation of the necessary reforms and the creation of equal conditions for all political forces.
In addition, the EU requires candidate countries to settle all border disputes with their neighbors before accession. Although Albanians and Greece are NATO allies and have close economic ties, there is an ongoing dispute between them over the delimitation of maritime borders and exclusive economic zones. In particular, this applies to how the Greek islands (Corfu and small islands near the Albanian coast) should be taken into account when determining the continental shelf and EEZ, which is important for potential exploration of energy resources at the bottom of the Ionian Sea.
After all, Greece expresses concern about respect for the rights of ethnic Greeks in Albania. In particular, this concerns the problem of the return or compensation of property confiscated from members of the Greek minority during the communist regime in Albania.
The Republic of North Macedonia received candidate status for EU accession back in 2005, however, negotiations with Brussels did not officially begin until July 2022 due to long disputes with Greece and Bulgaria related to the name of the state, its language and even the interpretation of history, as Skopje and Sofia cover the same events differently in public school textbooks. Although the North Macedonian authorities managed to resolve most of the contradictions with their neighbours, this path of compromise with Greece and Bulgaria did not form a national consensus but, on the contrary, generated strong internal political resistance. Therefore, the risk of North Macedonia plunging into a state of political instability is extremely high.
The Republic of Kosovo has the status of a potential candidate for joining the EU due to the fact that not all EU member states recognize its independence. So far, 22 of the 27 EU member states have recognized the independence of Kosovo. Five EU countries are currently refusing to do so, namely – Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia. The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina has the greatest problems in the field of compliance with the rule of law, real fight against corruption and crime, and effective management reform. Despite the granting of candidate status in December 2022 and the approval of the start of accession negotiations in March 2024, the country needs to implement deep political and constitutional reforms. As you know, the country has a complex and confusing system of governance, which was created 30 years ago after the war caused by the collapse of Yugoslavia to balance the interests of different ethnic groups, but now makes it difficult to carry out the necessary reforms. In addition, due to the high level of right-wing radical nationalism in the country, ethnically motivated political groups often come into conflict over key issues, such as the budget or land reform, which significantly slows down the country’s progress towards European integration.
For a long time, separatist sentiments have been recorded in the country in one of its entities, the Republika Srpska. Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik significantly sharpens criticism of Bosnia’s central authorities, questions the legitimacy of state institutions and openly brings Bosnia closer to collapse, for example, introduces laws that limit the jurisdiction of state courts and power structures of Bosnia and Herzegovina within the Republika Srpska. At the same time, some geopolitical players, primarily Russia, use political instability in Bosnia to realize their own interests.
The report also states that the high level of migration of people from the six countries of the Western Balkans to the EU facilitates the organization of forced labor and sexual exploitation, and also makes it difficult to fight them. Usually, the victims are workers in seasonal tourism, construction, hotel business, agriculture and private households. In North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic minorities are vulnerable, primarily Roma women and children, who risk becoming victims of forced begging and early marriage.
In addition, it is emphasized that corruption is the main factor contributing to the specified illegal phenomena. At the same time, it is noted that in Serbia and Montenegro there are historically ancient patronage networks that traditionally protect certain criminal groups from law enforcement agencies. In general, throughout the Western Balkan region, the police, customs services, municipal authorities and judicial systems remain vulnerable to corruption.
As the report states, most of the cocaine transported from South America passes through the port of Bar in Montenegro and through the port of Durres in Albania, from where the drug enters the countries of Western Europe (only a small part of it remains in the region for domestic markets). Cannabis production is still present in the mountainous areas of Albania with a limited presence of law enforcement. Cannabis cultivation also remains a problem in parts of Kosovo and North Macedonia, from where it enters Bosnia and Serbia as transit countries.
No one in the EU needs the existence of a large «gray» zone, which is characterized by permanent political instability and a high degree of criminogenicity, so the process of acquiring membership in the European Union for the countries of the Western Balkans continues.