Tivat: draft EU summit conclusions reach regional capitals

The Montenegrin presidency of the European Union and the cabinet of President Jakov Milatovic circulated on Wednesday evening the draft conclusions of the European Union and Western Balkans summit. The summit takes place on June 5 in Tivat, with capacity for forty two delegations, including confirmed attendance by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President Emmanuel Macron and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The draft conclusions, obtained through diplomatic sources in Brussels, expand the previous two chapter format into three. Alongside accession and economic flows, a separate chapter on security coordination has been added, with emphasis on hybrid threats, energy resilience and coordination on the sanctions regime against Russia. For Serbia, which signed a memorandum of cooperation in May with the Communist Party of China, this is a political test of balancing its multi-vector policy.

Central issues in the conclusions

In the accession chapter the draft contains a formulation about “accelerated crediting” for the opening of clusters for Montenegro and Albania, while Serbia receives a “differentiated approach” depending on its delivery on benchmarks from Chapter 35. The draft explicitly mentions the Belgrade and Pristina dialogue as a condition for any further progress.

In the security chapter the draft proposes the creation of a “standing consultation mechanism” between EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and the foreign ministries of countries in the region. The mechanism would meet every six months, with regular reports on alignment with the Common Foreign and Security Policy required.

The Tivat summit must produce operational conclusions, not declarations, if we want the Growth Plan worth six billion euros to have visible effects by next year, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said on Tuesday.

Positions of Belgrade and Pristina

Belgrade is pressing for the inclusion of language on UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and on “full respect for the territorial integrity of candidate countries” in the opening statement. Pristina, according to a statement from the cabinet of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, supports the draft in its current form and is calling for the addition of a paragraph on the “obligation to implement all agreements from the dialogue”, with a reference to the Ohrid Annex.

Diplomatic activity in the weeks before the summit includes:

• bilateral meetings between Serbia’s chief negotiator and all EU members
• Pristina’s consultations with French diplomacy on the draft conclusions
• preparation of a joint non-paper by Paris, Berlin and Rome on the future of the dialogue
• Sarajevo’s consultations with Croatia on the security paragraphs
• North Macedonia’s talks with Bulgaria on constitutional amendments

EU Special Envoy for the dialogue Peter Sorensen announced a meeting with Petar Petkovic and Besnik Bislimi in Brussels on Friday, aimed at aligning positions before Tivat.

Reactions from EU capitals

The German delegation in Brussels, according to sources close to the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, supports the draft as a whole but is seeking sharper language on rule of law progress. France supports the security chapter and stresses coordination with NATO partners.

Italy under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni insists on the economic chapter and on concrete figures for the disbursement of the second and third tranches of the Growth Plan, which together total one billion five hundred million euros. Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban keeps reservations on the sanctions chapter and is seeking the inclusion of a paragraph on “energy diversity”.

What comes after Tivat

After the summit, the next key date is the EU General Affairs Council session in Luxembourg on June 17, which will decide on the opening of clusters for Montenegro and Albania. The June European Council in Brussels on June 26 and 27 is expected to set guidance for the next negotiation steps.

For Belgrade it matters particularly that the summit conclusions leave room for a continued differentiated approach, allowing cooperation with China in areas that are not explicitly sanctioned while delivering on obligations to Brussels. The package of measures in preparation includes a review of trade policy and coordination on digital infrastructure.

Will the Tivat summit conclusions contain an explicit reference to Resolution 1244, or will Belgrade have to settle for a more general reference to the territorial integrity of candidate countries?