European Union leaders gather in Brussels on December 18 and 19 with a single task: securing funds for Ukraine for the next two years.
With more countries, including Bulgaria, Malta and Italy, joining Brussels in questioning the feasibility of a loan to Kiev for reparations as the preferred method, much of the diplomatic effort this week will focus on trying to resolve the issue.
But, the day before the meeting, on December 17, the EU capital is hosting another summit that is completely overshadowed by developments related to Ukraine: the leaders of the six aspiring Western Balkan countries (Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) meet with their EU counterparts in Brussels.
Kosovo, at this summit, is represented by the country's president, Vjosa Osmani.
The annual EU-Western Balkans summit has become something of a formality in recent years, with few or no concrete results, and this meeting is no exception.
The draft summit declaration, seen by Radio Free Europe, a document to be approved by EU leaders, asserts that "the future of the Western Balkans lies in our bloc. Enlargement is a real opportunity that must be seized."
In reality, most of the six states are deadlocked on their path to EU membership, with only Albania and Montenegro making progress towards membership in the bloc. But the summit preparations and political moves provide a clear example of how fragile even this progress is.
During the fall, the idea was that Montenegro would close five political chapters – a major step for Podgorica. This happened on December 16, and the country has now closed 12 out of a total of 33 chapters.
The draft conclusions, seen by Radio Free Europe, say that until last week, Paris had only requested the closure of three chapters. Then, Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović spoke by phone with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, about the issue and managed to persuade him to agree to close five chapters.
France's problem was not really with Montenegro, but more with Serbia, a close political ally of France, which will not open any accession chapters. Belgrade has been stuck on the European path since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with several other EU member states unhappy that the country is not aligning with EU sanctions on Russia and has made insufficient progress on the rule of law.
Since the opening and closing of chapters requires the consensus of the 27 member states, France is using a tactic that is common in Brussels, that of linking the progress of a candidate country (or lack thereof) to that of another candidate country.
While France withdrew from Montenegro, it got what it wanted when it came to Kosovo. The EU imposed punitive measures on Pristina in 2023, including freezing hundreds of millions of euros, after Kosovo recognized the results of local elections in the Serb-majority north, despite warnings from Brussels.
While there is broad agreement that Kosovo has taken sufficient steps to de-escalate the situation and measures should be gradually lifted, France has led efforts to slow this process.
The Kosovo Presidency said that during the summit, President Osmani will hold meetings with leaders of EU institutions and participating leaders, and the key topic will be measures.
"The lifting of measures against Kosovo and moving forward on the path of integration will be a priority during the discussions," said the Kosovo Presidency.
Supported by Hungary, Italy, Spain and Slovakia, Paris has ensured that no measures are lifted before the parliamentary elections to be held in Kosovo on December 28. These countries were also instrumental in Serbia avoiding EU sanctions two years ago, after Serbian militants, suspected of being supported by Belgrade, attacked the Kosovo Police in Banjska i Zvecan, killing a policeman.
The draft statement, which REL has seen, also mentions the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia on the normalization of relations, which is being mediated by Brussels. It states that "the lack of normalization of relations between Pristina and Belgrade is keeping both countries blocked on the European path."
"All agreements reached in the EU-facilitated dialogue must be implemented, in particular the Agreement on the Pathway to Normalization and its Annex. Support under the Western Balkans Reform and Growth is conditional on the constructive engagement of the partners and measurable progress and concrete results in the normalization of their relations," the document states.
Since September 2023, a few days before the attack in Banjska, no high-level round has been held in Brussels. The agreement mentioned in the draft declaration was reached in 2023, although the parties have not signed it. The EU considers the agreement to be binding on Belgrade and Pristina and continuously demands its implementation and the annex.
This agreement, with 11 articles, among other things, provides for a level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo, mutual recognition of state symbols, so that Serbia does not block Kosovo's membership in international organizations, and requires Pristina and Belgrade to also implement all previous agreements reached during the dialogue.
The draft statement also mentions the EU's Growth Plan for the Western Balkans worth €6 billion in exchange for implementing reforms related to the bloc. This plan, according to the EU, has the potential to accelerate economic growth in the region in the next decade, as countries will receive this amount of money for reforms and investments.
"This amount is in addition to the 29 billion euros being implemented through the Economic and Investment Plan. The EU calls for maximum use of the opportunities offered by the Growth Plan through timely implementation of reforms," the draft statement says.
Beyond the issue of enlargement, there are not many other points where the EU can push forward in the Western Balkans next year, apart from gradual integration into the EU market in some areas.
Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia joined the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) this year, which simplifies and reduces bank transfers in euros. The idea is that two other countries, Kosovo and Bosnia, will join soon.
Similarly, Brussels' goal for 2026 is to include the entire region in its mobile phone regime, which will enable citizens from the six republics to call, send messages and use the internet using domestic EU phone rates.
This would be a step towards reducing roaming charges between the EU and candidate countries in the Western Balkans, which entered into force in 2023. This step would follow Moldova and Ukraine, which will join the EU roaming area on January 1.
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