The candidate for the European Union Enlargement Commissioner, Slovenia’s Marta Kos, stated on Thursday that Montenegro and Albania have the potential to conclude their EU membership negotiations by 2026 and 2027, respectively.

She made these remarks during a hearing in the European Parliament (EP), where she responded to questions from members of the EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee. Kos is seeking the committee’s approval to be appointed as Enlargement Commissioner.

During the session, she reaffirmed her commitment to accelerating the enlargement process and emphasized that candidate countries should be admitted based on their achievements and the fulfillment of reforms and membership criteria.

“For the first time in ten years, there is a real opportunity to bring one or two countries to the final stage of negotiations. It is possible that we could conclude negotiations with Montenegro, closing all chapters, by the end of 2026. With Albania, by 2027,” she said.

Montenegro has opened all negotiation chapters and temporarily closed three. After years of stagnation, Montenegro resumed negotiations in June this year and is now working towards their closure. On the other hand, Albania opened its first negotiation chapter for EU membership on October 15.

Kos stressed that, if appointed, she would ensure that the EU also fulfills its promises to countries in the enlargement process. However, it remains unclear whether she will be confirmed, as sources within the European Parliament suggest she may be one of the candidates who could face a vote against her appointment as Enlargement Commissioner.

Kos was nominated for the post in September by Ursula von der Leyen, the elected president of the European Commission. If confirmed, Kos would succeed Oliver Varhelyi in this role. She was also asked about her potential involvement in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

She expressed readiness to work alongside Kaja Kallas, who is expected to be confirmed as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, to take on the mediation of the dialogue between the two neighboring countries.

“Formally, the dialogue is in Kaja Kallas’s hands. I will certainly work with her. Since I know this region and its mentality, I want to cooperate in this area. Let’s move forward. It has been too formal until now,” she said.

Kos also stated that she expects both Kosovo and Serbia to implement the agreement they reached in early 2023 on normalizing relations as part of the EU-facilitated dialogue.

However, she warned, “If things do not progress, we must find a new approach,” quoting Albert Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”(REL)

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