EU must be ready and able to expand, Merz says at summit with Balkan leaders

June 05, 2026

The European Union must show it is willing and able to take in new members, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday as the bloc’s leaders gathered with Western Balkan counterparts hoping to join in the coming years.

Enlargement has risen up the EU agenda due to Russia's war against Ukraine, with Kyiv keen to join the bloc to anchor itself in Europe's political mainstream and EU officials declaring that the union should expand to reduce the influence of foreign powers in its neighbourhood.

But the process of joining is usually long and complex, involving years of negotiations and legal reforms, with approval of all 27 current EU members required to complete each step.

"The European Union has to show that it is capable of enlarging and willing to enlarge and we want to discuss that here," Merz told reporters at the summit in the Montenegrin coastal town of Tivat.