“The great EU enlargement of 2004 erased borders in Europe and fulfilled the centuries-old dreams of Central European people for a united Europe,” said Montenegro’s chief EU negotiator, Predrag Zenović.
Today in Vienna, he participated in the panel “Europe Day 2024 – The Success Story of Enlargement – Connecting the Past and Future.” The event was organized to mark the 20th anniversary of the fifth and the biggest enlargement of the European Union, as well as the 30th anniversary of Austria’s EU membership.
Zenović highlighted the significance of the enlargement policy and emphasized that it is crucial to keep it high on the EU’s priority list, especially because of its transformative power on countries in the accession process.
“These borders need to be erased towards the Western Balkans as well, to strengthen enlargement and prioritize it in the new European Commission. Enlargement must be based on the merits and reform capabilities of candidate countries. Montenegro will be the 28th EU member state by 2028,” said Zenović.
Austrian Minister for the EU and Constitution, Karoline Edtstadler, emphasized the importance of continuing EU enlargement and encouraged the Western Balkan countries and Montenegro, as a leader in the accession process.
The panel participants noted that the anniversaries celebrated in May this year represent milestones in European integration and an opportunity to reflect on the past, present, and future of the European Union through dialogue, to remind of the significance of the enlargement process for both acceding and existing member states, and to highlight lessons learned that could be valuable for future enlargement waves.
The event was organized at the initiative of the embassies of the Republic of Slovenia and the Czech Republic, in cooperation with the European Commission Representation in Austria and the embassies of Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, and Slovakia, with the support of the Belgian presidency of the EU Council.
In addition to Chief Negotiator Zenović, the panel featured Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, Kristina Gerasimov, former chief advisor to the Slovenian government on the financial aspects of Slovenia’s EU accession, Mojmir Mrak, political scientist and professor at Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle, and former EU Commissioner, Vice President of the European Parliament, and Czech EU accession negotiator, Pavel Telička.
