European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić in Podgorica on 1 October 2026, with talks centred on the country's path toward EU membership. She is due to inaugurate a new National Coordination Centre in the capital the following morning. Montenegro (a small Adriatic Balkan nation of about 620,000 people and a NATO member) is widely seen as the frontrunner among candidates for the next EU enlargement, making the visit a notable signal of Brussels' support.