Six countries from the Western Balkans have applied to join the EU during the past two decades. They include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Serbia.
Montenegro’s application is the most advanced and, in March 2020, the EU agreed to start formal talks with Albania and North Macedonia. But progress for both countries has been slow.
The speed of Ukraine’s journey to starting formal talks with Brussels has renewed calls in the Western Balkans for their accession talks to gather pace too. Ireland supports the full membership ambitions of the six countries but when could they realistically join the bloc?
