Analysis: EU Steps up Efforts to Bring in Western Balkans as New Members

News Analysis As the European Union takes a bold, proactive approach to adding new members, it is trying to reform itself to handle the enlargement. Leaders of the six Western Balkan countries—Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia—met on Monday in Skopje, North Macedonia, to discuss reforms needed to access the new EU’s growth plan for the Western Balkans. The European Commission—the executive body of the European Union—adopted in November a new 6 billion euro ($6.5 billion) growth plan to accelerate the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU from 2024-2027, according to a statement....