France, June 2 -- The agreement, struck on Monday between European lawmakers and member states, comes as Brussels is also looking eastwards with renewed urgency.

At a Western Balkans summit in Montenegro later this week, EU leaders will seek to show Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro that enlargement is back on the table - not as a vague aspiration, but as a strategic priority.

The timing also underlines the EU's delicate balancing act. As the European Union tries to convince its neighbours that membership is a real prospect, it is also preparing rules that could see some non-EU countries host centres for people who have been ordered to leave the bloc.

"Today's agreement shows that we are bringi...