Montenegrin President: Enlargement Now Issue of European Security

Jakov Milatovic (BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC)

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic and Austrian Minister for Europe Karoline Edtstadler have concurred that security threats to the EU from Russia and China had precipitated a change in the enlargement policy, which has become a matter of Europe’s security.

In an interview to Euronews on the sidelines of the European Forum Alpbach on Aug. 28, the Montenegrin president stressed that 2028 was a clear and ambitious, but also a realistic plan for his country to join the EU.

Milatovic said he was very optimistic regarding the closing of further chapters (in the EU membership negotiations) before the end of this year and that Montenegro could fulfill everything for it to become a member in 2028. He said that his hope also relied on the fact that, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Brussels had “finally realized, like many other capitals, that enlargement was connected with the security of the European continent.”

EU members have also cited the security advantages of the Union’s enlargement. “Since Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, we have also had external pressure on our internal security – that factor was the true incentive for the process of enlargement,” Edtstadler said. The topic of this year’s European Forum Alpbach, from Aug. 17 to 30, titled “The Moment of Truth” reflects the key decisions that have to be made in 2024, considering that this year is decisive, with more than 70 elections worldwide, stated the organizers of the Forum.