EU enlargement requires citizen support, experts say

During an event in Podgorica, representatives from the Center for Civic Education (CGO), the Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI), and the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) emphasized that sustainable European Union enlargement requires active support and understanding from citizens in both candidate and member states.

Zvezdana Kovač, Director of Strategy and Communications at CGO, noted that Montenegro’s path toward the EU serves as a test for the credibility and transformative power of the enlargement process itself, impacting the entire Western Balkans. She highlighted that citizens in EU member states harbor concerns regarding economic costs, impacts on jobs and public services, migration, security, and the EU’s ability to function effectively with more members.

Luka Pavićević, a project coordinator at CeMI, added that it is vital for citizens in candidate countries to understand how EU membership affects their daily lives and opportunities, while simultaneously understanding the perspectives of EU citizens, particularly in regions where support for enlargement is lower.