Luxembourg Prime Minister calls on EU members to decide on Montenegro's accession next year

Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden stated in the European Parliament (EP) that a shorter and clearer timeframe is needed for countries wishing to join the European Union, and that the decision on Montenegro's accession should be made next year.

Enlargement is a matter of strategic interest, Frieden said in an address to MEPs in Strasbourg on Tuesday, warning that keeping candidate countries "in an eternal waiting room" risks pushing them away from Europe.

"Therefore, it is necessary to revive hope and show that EU accession is realistic and close. In this sense, we need to set clearer and closer deadlines," the Luxembourg prime minister said, the EP said.

Frieden added that it is time to finalize negotiations and decide on Montenegro's accession next year.

The Luxembourg Times portal writes that his statement is surprising, stating that no one has ever called so clearly for the admission of a small Balkan country in 2026.

"This political commitment to enlargement policy, which Frieden sees less as a formal exercise and more as a geopolitical instrument, is probably what most clearly distinguishes him from his predecessor and current foreign minister, Xavier Bettel, who was much more skeptical in this regard," the Luxembourg Times reports.

Frieden said that the EU should review its decision-making process, and he also mentioned the idea of ​​European concentric circles, with countries having varying degrees of integration.

"In light of increasingly fierce international competition, Europe must reexamine its decision-making processes and reconsider the idea of ​​a Europe of concentric circles with a smaller core group of member states," the prime minister said.

In his address to the European Parliamentarians, Frieden said that Europe must commit to its core values ​​of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, assessing that the international order of rules, agreements and institutions is under pressure today as never before.

"But Europe cannot give up on international law and the rules-based system. We must remain the voice of these values," Frieden said.

He welcomed the European Commission's proposals to increase defense spending and joint procurement and develop the European industrial base.

As stated in the EP statement, Frieden emphasized that member states must use their industrial diversity to defend Europe from those who question its values.