Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovia, North Macedonia Kosovo are at various stages of trying to join the bloc. Geographically, the region is completely surrounded by the EU. For nearly two decades, a period of relative calm kept enlargement on the backburner, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine shattered that peace, turning expansion into a critical security priority.
However, it is also about money. The EU is already the region's primary trading partner and investor and only last year, the total trade reached over €87 billion. It is a massive, two-way exchange of heavy machinery, chemicals, and metals flowing back and forth across the border. What's crucial, the EU exported far more than it imported, running a handsome profit.
