Possible Date for EU Accession and the Years Ahead

Juncker’s speech represents the first occasion when an EU representative mentioned even a possible date for EU’s future enlargement.

The recent announcement by the President of the European Commission (EC), Jean-Claude Juncker on EC’s plan to prepare a Strategy for a successful EU accession of Serbia and Montenegro as frontrunner candidates in the Western Balkans in 2025 perspective is very important for Serbia and the rest of Western Balkans. His speech represents the first occasion when an EU representative mentioned even a possible date for EU’s future enlargement – 14 years since the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki, almost 8 years since Serbia lodged its membership application, and 4 years since the accession negotiations with the EU were opened.

Aside from Juncker’s announcement, it is noticed that some additional steps have been taken recently that highlight greater attention in the EU towards the Western Balkans. In the new CEP Insight, ambassador Duško Lopandić,  CEP Council Member, writes about this new situation and what does it mean for Serbia.