Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milojko Spajić on Wednesday responded to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s proposal for the entire Western Balkans to join the European Union simultaneously, saying Podgorica is aiming for membership in 2028 and will be “waiting” for its neighbours.
Spajić posted his message on social platform X after Vučić told a forum in Belgrade that the best solution for the EU would be for all Western Balkan states to accede at the same time to avoid new tensions and unresolved disputes.
“I agree that the EU should be the final destination for the whole Western Balkans. But we will be waiting for you there from 2028, and we sincerely hope you will speed up — and help accelerate others in the region,” Spajić wrote, signalling that Montenegro does not want to be tied to a collective accession package if it is ready to enter earlier.
Montenegro has been promoting the slogan “28 by 2028,” aiming to become the EU’s 28th member that year. Both Spajić and President Jakov Milatović have said they want to close all negotiating chapters by the end of 2026 and enter the bloc formally in 2028.
European Council President António Costa, during a recent visit to Podgorica, said enlargement was a “strategic investment” for EU stability and that Montenegro could realistically join by 2028 if it maintains its reform pace.
But some diplomats and experts are sceptical. Slovak diplomat František Lipka said it was unlikely Montenegro could close all chapters by 2026, arguing the challenge lies not only in technical tasks but also in the government’s approach — which he described as overly centralised, with limited consultation with the opposition, unions and civil society.
Vučić’s idea of a joint regional accession — which he plans to raise with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Costa — rests on the argument that admitting some countries before others could create new divisions. “If you take one, two or three, what happens to the rest? How do we resolve all the open issues?” Vučić said.
Spajić’s reply, both pointed and ironic, shifts responsibility back to the slower-moving candidates. By saying “we’ll be waiting for you in 2028,” he suggested Montenegro is ready to test whether the EU is prepared to integrate at least one Western Balkan country in the next enlargement cycle, without linking its fate to political dynamics in Belgrade, Tirana or Skopje.
Whether that target is met will depend on several factors: Montenegro’s ability to close its negotiating chapters and deliver reforms, the EU’s willingness to advance enlargement amid internal pressures, and regional lobbying efforts that some analysts say aim to slow Montenegro’s progress to preserve “balance” in the Western Balkans.
For now, the public exchange highlights contrasting paths: a president whose country is still stuck in difficult negotiations calling for collective entry, and a prime minister from a smaller neighbour telling him Montenegro plans to be inside the EU by 2028 — and encouraging others to catch up.