European Council calls enlargement a “geostrategic investment” and backs work on Montenegro’s accession treaty

European Union leaders have described enlargement as a “geostrategic investment” in a set of conclusions adopted at the European Council in Brussels on 16 October. The text, published on the EEAS website, also welcomes work on the draft accession treaty for Montenegro, the only candidate it names.

What the leaders agreed on enlargement

In the section on enlargement and reforms, paragraphs 74 to 78 of the conclusions, the European Council recalls the Granada Declaration and says it held a strategic discussion on both enlargement and the Union’s own internal reforms. It describes enlargement as a geostrategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity.

The conclusions place obligations on both sides. Aspiring members are asked to keep reforming, with the rule of law singled out, and the EU is told to move ahead with its own internal reforms so that the Union and its future members are ready by the time accession happens. The process remains merit-based, with each candidate moving forward according to its own progress rather than as part of a fixed group.

Commission communication and Montenegro

The leaders took note of the Commission communication “Preparing for a wider Union” and asked the Council to analyse all of its strands. The conclusions do not set dates or new decisions for any individual candidate in that passage.

Montenegro is the one country mentioned by name. The European Council welcomed ongoing work on the draft accession treaty and noted that the Irish Council Presidency intends to work toward provisionally closing the remaining negotiating chapters, on condition that Montenegro implements the corresponding reforms. Geopolitiki reported earlier this week on the state of play in the Western Balkans, including how many chapters Montenegro and Albania have closed, in EU enlargement: Montenegro has closed 21 of 33 chapters, Albania 4; what the Commission announced on the Western Balkans.

A summit with a wider agenda

The enlargement passage is one part of a longer set of conclusions whose title also refers to competitiveness and the next multiannual financial framework. The page read for this report contains only the enlargement section, so the other parts of the text are not summarised here. Greece’s positions on the budget at the same summit are covered in Mitsotakis at the European Council: no cuts to cohesion, flexibility on energy and a crisis mechanism on migration.

The full conclusions are available on the EEAS website.