European Council President Costa addresses Euronews EU Enlargement Summit 2026
On 3 November, European Council President Antonio Costa took part in the Euronews EU Enlargement Summit bringing together policymakers, political leaders, experts and business representatives in Brussels, with the debate broadcast live to Euronews audiences.
“Since the beginning of my mandate, I have made enlargement a strategic priority. I have visited all candidate countries several times and worked closely with their leaders, institutions and civil society to advance a successful enlargement process,” Costa told the Summit, adding that enlargement is “the best geopolitical investment Europe has made for peace, security, democracy, stability and prosperity”.
He reminded that in October, the European Union held accession conferences with Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova, marking further progress in their respective accession processes. Montenegro and Albania provisionally closed additional negotiating chapters, while Ukraine and Moldova opened negotiations on new clusters.
Costa highlighted that Moldova and Ukraine have benefited from closer cooperation with the European Union, including visa liberalisation, lower roaming costs, energy support and investment in infrastructure.
“This progress is particularly remarkable in Ukraine, which has been facing Russia’s war of aggression for almost five years,” the President of the European Council said. “In Moldova, the progress made in implementing reforms and the country’s strong commitment to aligning with the European Union acquis means that it will be able to advance rapidly on its path towards membership once all accession clusters have been opened.”
Today, the European Commission will present its 2026 Enlargement Package, featuring the annual enlargement communication, country reports on candidate and potential candidate countries, and targeted accession roadmaps.
On 15-16 November the EU Enlargement Forum will gather in Brussels, bringing together a broad and diverse range of participants, from high-level national and regional political leaders to civil society representatives, entrepreneurs, artists, youth voices, and policy experts from both EU Member States and enlargement countries.
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