For more than two decades, the countries of the Western Balkans have been waiting to join the European Union.

Now Brussels appears to be considering a new way of bringing them closer to the bloc without waiting for full membership.

According to a draft European Commission proposal seen by Politico, candidate countries could be offered gradual access to the EU's single market, as well as participation in research, innovation and industrial programmes, while they continue working towards full membership.

The proposal resembles an idea put forward earlier this year by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

It does not mean the EU has formally adopted the Vučić-Rama proposal, but suggests that the concept of gradual integration is gaining traction within the bloc.

What did Vučić and Rama propose?

In February, Vučić and Rama called for a "phased accession process", arguing that candidate countries should receive some of the benefits of closer integration before achieving full membership.

They proposed gradual integration into the EU single market and access to the passport-free Schengen area.

Vučić has also said Serbia would be prepared to accept EU membership without veto rights if that could accelerate the process.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, he reiterated that full EU membership remained Serbia's strategic priority but said the Western Balkans needed a more tangible path towards integration.

Serbia became an EU candidate in 2012 and opened accession negotiations in 2014. It has opened 22 of the EU's 35 negotiating chapters, of which two have been provisionally closed. No new negotiating cluster has been opened since 2021.

The European Commission has said Serbia has met the technical benchmarks to open another cluster, but progress remains linked to alignment with EU foreign policy, rule-of-law reforms and the normalisation of relations with Kosovo.

What is Brussels proposing?

The draft Commission proposal reported by Politico envisages "gradual integration" of candidate countries into the single market, including closer trade links and access to European research, innovation and industrial programmes.

The idea is to allow candidate countries to become more closely integrated into European economic structures while continuing the accession process.

The EU has already introduced elements of this approach with other candidates. Moldova, for example, has progressively gained access to parts of the single market and joined the Single Euro Payments Area in 2025 and the EU's "Roam Like at Home" area in January 2026.

The Commission proposal would extend this principle more broadly.

The benefits would not be unconditional. According to Politico's account of the draft, access to certain sensitive areas could depend on countries' strategic alignment with the EU, including cooperation on investment screening, export controls, sanctions and protection of sensitive technologies.

Participation could also be suspended if countries failed to meet their commitments.

Full membership would remain the stated goal, with the Commission continuing to stress that accession requires lasting reforms in areas including democracy and the rule of law.

Why now?

Croatia was the last country to join the EU, in 2013.

The enlargement process gained new momentum after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with the EU increasingly presenting enlargement as a security and geopolitical issue.

Ukraine and Moldova opened accession negotiations in 2024, while Albania and Montenegro have made significant progress.

But enlargement remains a political process as well as a technical one. Candidates must meet EU requirements, while member states must ultimately agree to admit new members.

That has contributed to a long gap between progress on individual reforms and actual membership.

Serbia illustrates the challenge

Serbia is deeply economically integrated with the EU, which is its largest trading partner and a major source of investment.

At the same time, its accession process has made limited progress in recent years. Brussels continues to point to rule-of-law reforms and relations with Kosovo as key areas requiring further progress.

Serbia has also maintained close energy ties with Russia and expanded economic cooperation with China.

For Belgrade, gradual integration could therefore offer greater access to the EU economy without waiting for the political conditions for full membership to be resolved.

Albania, meanwhile, has moved much faster through the accession process. The Commission has opened all six negotiating clusters, with the final cluster opened in November 2025.

A phased model could apply to countries at different stages of the accession process, allowing them to receive benefits as they meet specific conditions.

What would phased integration mean?

The Commission proposal would not create a new category of EU membership.

Instead, countries could gradually gain access to parts of the EU's economic and institutional structures while remaining outside the bloc.

They could participate in EU programmes and gain greater access to the single market without initially having voting rights in EU institutions.

For candidate countries, this would provide more immediate economic benefits from the accession process.

For the EU, it could provide a mechanism for deepening integration while full membership negotiations continue.

The main question is whether member states will support the approach and how far they are prepared to extend market access before full accession.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is visiting the Western Balkans this week. EU leaders are also due to discuss enlargement at a summit in Brussels in October.

This article is part of a series on EU enlargement. Read other articles in the series here: 

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