Germany's Wadephul: EU Has Not Delivered on Western Balkans Promises

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called on EU countries on Thursday to follow through on enlargement promises made to the Western Balkans, warning that the bloc's credibility and influence in the region are now at stake. He spoke after a meeting in Budva, Montenegro, held under the Berlin Process, a framework in which the EU and Western Balkan states discuss economic integration, infrastructure, and reconciliation among Balkan countries.

Wadephul recalled that the EU had declared at a 2003 summit in Thessaloniki that the Western Balkans belonged in the bloc. In a self-critical remark about Germany's own record, he noted that former Chancellor Angela Merkel only launched the Berlin Process in 2014, and that 12 years on, there is still no breakthrough. "We have not delivered," he said, urging all parties to prove that the Thessaloniki promise was genuine and that Europe remains credible and reliable.

The minister also referenced "geopolitical adversaries and rivals" competing for influence in the region, an apparent reference to Russia and China. A day earlier, Republika Srpska Prime Minister Savo Minić and his predecessor Milorad Dodik had traveled to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, just days before elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday.

Austria's foreign minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, echoed the warning, saying the EU can no longer afford to get bogged down in bureaucratic, technocratic processes, since any hesitation would let other foreign powers step in and gain influence.

Montenegro is considered the frontrunner in the enlargement process, aiming to become the EU's 28th member by 2028. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos praised the country's reform progress, noting that 18 of 33 accession chapters have already been closed, with several more expected to close this month. She said there is a realistic chance negotiations could conclude by year's end or early next year, though ratification would still take another one to two years. Montenegro's Foreign Minister Ervin Ibrahimović said his government has carried out extensive reforms and that citizens now deserve to see the benefits of EU membership.