There was a time when the Western Balkans appeared in European strategy papers primarily as a risk management category. Instability, political unpredictability, geopolitical intrusion and unresolved traumas shaped perception far more than opportunity or partnership. That framing has not disappeared completely, but by 2035, it has been altered significantly by a handful of states that chose to behave like strategic contributors rather than permanent subjects of concern. Montenegro is one of them.
As a full EU member, Montenegro has become less discussed as a candidate case and more acknowledged as a stabilising instrument within Europe’s southeastern space. Its political trajectory after accession did not devolve into fatigue or institutional complacency. Instead, it continued reform, consolidated legal discipline, strengthened administrative capacity, anchored rule-of-law confidence and reinforced national orientation toward predictable governance. This predictability has become a European asset.
Europe does not value Montenegro only because of geography, though geography matters. The Adriatic positioning, regional connectivity and proximity to non-EU Balkan states give Montenegro natural geopolitical relevance. But what elevates this relevance is behavior. Montenegro consistently aligns with European foreign policy, supports sanctions frameworks, participates in joint security coordination, reinforces border integrity, institutionalises regulatory coherence and communicates policy continuity in a region that often struggles with it. It does not destabilise conversations. It stabilises them.
That role is particularly critical because Europe learned that enlargement is no longer a charity project. It is security policy. A cohesive, stable Western Balkans inside structured institutional order strengthens Europe’s border environment, energy risk perimeter, migration management and geopolitical resilience against external powers seeking influence. Montenegro functions as proof that this logic works. It is visible, functioning evidence that integration reinforces stability when institutions are respected and corruption does not overwhelm ambition.
Economically, Montenegro’s stability has become a signal. Investors differentiate the Balkans today. They see jurisdictions where legal frameworks are fragile, and they see Montenegro where rule of law has substance, regulatory predictability holds and political turbulence no longer automatically translates into business risk. That perception benefits not only Montenegro’s domestic economy. It encourages companies to treat the broader Western Balkan region not as a singular instability zone, but as a differentiated economic geography with reliable entry points. Montenegro is one of those entry points.
Diplomatically, Montenegro has become a facilitator. It does not dominate the region by size. It does not impose. Instead, it hosts, coordinates, mediates and supports policy alignment that benefits regional stability. It engages constructively in EU mechanisms, participates in coordinated security and institutional initiatives, and supports regional solutions rather than zero-sum competition. Europe pays attention to small states that consistently act grown-up in difficult environments.
By 2035, Brussels does not simply manage Montenegro. It partners with it. When the EU thinks about cohesion in the southeast, Montenegro is part of how that cohesion is maintained. When the EU models potential crisis scenarios, Montenegro is categorised as a stabiliser, not a vulnerability. When the EU plans infrastructure, energy security alignment, regional market refinement or institutional support frameworks, Montenegro is not on the receiving list alone. It is on the contributing list.
There is responsibility in this quiet role. Stability must be continuously protected. The fight against corruption must never become cosmetic. Media freedom, judiciary independence, institutional professionalism and reform credibility must remain living commitments, not accession obligations ticked and archived. Power is subtle here: Montenegro’s influence comes from trust, and trust erodes faster than it is earned.
But standing in 2035, one truth is now undeniable. In a region once associated overwhelmingly with fragility, Montenegro has become part of why Europe sleeps slightly more comfortably. That is not poetic flattery. It is strategic fact.
A small EU member does not shift global tides. But it can steady dangerous currents close to home.
Montenegro does exactly that.
Elevated by mercosur.me
