“The Western Balkans still need full EU membership, not a second-class status” | Marta Szpala

Research Assistant at the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Political Studies Marta Szpala says Italy is leading a renewed push to keep EU enlargement high on the agenda, arguing that the Western Balkans should not be left behind as Ukraine and Moldova move closer to membership. She explains that while Montenegro and Albania have accelerated their accession efforts, none of the Western Balkan candidates are fully ready to join because serious rule-of-law and governance problems remain. Szpala stresses that Italy rejects the idea of a “second-tier” EU membership and insists that full membership must remain the ultimate goal, even if stronger safeguards are introduced to protect democracy and the rule of law. She also argues that Italy’s enthusiasm is driven not only by geopolitics but by major economic, energy, and infrastructure interests linking the region to Europe. At the same time, she warns that countries like Serbia have failed to deliver key democratic reforms despite years of negotiations, showing that political will – not just EU procedures –remains the biggest obstacle to enlargement. 🔴 Watch our 24/7 livestream - https://youtube.com/live/m4mVcUReR6Y Bringing you all the latest daily news and updates, TVP World is Poland's first English-language channel where you can find world news as seen from the Polish perspective and the latest news from the CEE region. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. https://tvpworld.com/   / tvpworldcom     / tvpworld_com     / tvp_world   https://www.threads.net/@tvp_world https://bsky.app/profile/tvpworld.bsk...   / tvpworld.com   https://t.me/tvp_world #Europe #EU #Membership