The Western Balkans, which are at the heart of Europe, geographically surrounded by EU Member States, share the strategic goal of becoming EU members. The EU accession process is at the centre of EU-Western Balkans relations. As High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell has said, “The European Union is not complete without the Western Balkans”.

The conditions for establishing these relations were first laid down in Council Conclusions in April 1997.

In 1999, the EU Council established the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP). It was confirmed that the countries of the Western Balkans would be eligible for EU membership if they met the criteria established at the Copenhagen European Council in June 1993.

The “Copenhagen Criteria” include political, economic and political/administrative requirements and set the standards countries that wish to join the EU need to meet.

Since then, the EU has continuously underlined its determination to support the Western Balkans on their path towards European integration. In the EU-Western Balkans Summits the EU leaders have reaffirmed the Union’s determination to intensify further its engagement with the region and welcomed the pledge of the Western Balkan partners to carry out necessary reforms.

In February 2020, the European Commission presented proposals to strengthen the EU accession process. The Council endorsed this new methodology aiming to make the accession process more credible, predictable and subject to stronger political steering. The methodology puts an even stronger focus on the fundamental reforms essential for the EU path. Rule of law is central in the accession negotiations, while there is a stronger focus on the fundamentals of functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform and supporting economic reforms. The overall pace of negotiations depends on the fundamental reforms.

The revised methodology proposes clear incentives: supporting solid and accelerated economic development and tangible benefits for citizens in order to provide the environment that allows for the substantial reforms needed, e.g. increased investment opportunities, work for accelerated integration and “phasing-in” to individual EU policies, the EU markets and EU programmes, while ensuring a level playing field and strengthened regional integration.

Montenegro and Serbia have started membership talks. In March 2020 the European Council agreed to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential candidates for EU membership.

Roots of Türkiye’s relationship with the European Union date back to 1959 and includes the Ankara Association Agreement (1963) and a Customs Union set up in 1995. In 1999 Türkiye was declared eligible to join the EU and granted candidate status. Accession negotiations started in 2005. In June 2018 the Council decided that the accession negotiations with Türkiye are effectively frozen.

In March 2022, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia submitted applications for European Union membership, in the context of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. At the request of the Council, the European Commission has started the assessment of the applications. The Commission will submit its Opinion to the Council.