European Council President António Costa pitched enlargement of the European Union (EU) as an economic investment at a Brussels summit Tuesday, Nov. 3, while Montenegro’s accession talks continue toward its stated 2028 membership goal.
The European Commission says its review found that 26 million jobs emerged across the bloc during the 20-year period it covers, including 6 million in the 10 countries that joined in 2004. Those figures describe the period and do not establish that enlargement caused every job gain. The review also puts EU economic growth at 27% over those two decades. Poland and Malta each more than doubled their economies, while Slovakia’s grew by 80%.
Existing members also recorded trade gains with the 2004 entrants, according to the Commission: Spanish exports to the group doubled, and Italian goods trade rose 77%. Costa’s broader argument was that enlargement can benefit the bloc as a whole.
Pre-accession integration was another part of Costa’s case. His examples ranged from digital initiatives and transport and border links to participation in the Single Euro Payments Area. He also cited lower roaming costs. In June, the Council of the European Union authorized negotiations on extending the EU’s “Roam Like at Home” rules to Western Balkan partners; the extension has not been completed.
The Commission’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans sets a €6 billion envelope for 2024-2027, divided into €2 billion in grants and €4 billion in concessional loans. Payments depend on partners carrying out specified reforms. The plan is designed to advance integration while supporting reform and economic convergence; its funding envelope is not a full accounting of future enlargement’s budget effects.
The Montenegrin government’s stated goal is membership in 2028. An Oct. 12 Council update said Montenegro had opened all 33 negotiating chapters and provisionally closed 21. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Irish European Affairs Minister Thomas Byrne said member states had agreed to provisionally close Chapter 1, which covers free movement of goods, at a conference set for Friday, Nov. 6.
No chapter deal is final on its own, the Council says; the full negotiating package requires an overall agreement. A Brussels summit between EU and Western Balkan leaders is set for Nov. 25.
