Enlargement and association are not slogans; they are mechanisms. If Europe is to remain a credible political project, the course is twofold: accelerate the integration of the Western Balkans and complete the architecture for the micro-States with agreements binding them to the Single Market. This is the same compass that Italy has put back on the table, calling for a faster, more concrete path for candidate countries, with the Balkans foremost. The message is simple: no endless waiting, phased progress, measurable results. Rome has already formalised a proposal to “accelerate the accession of candidate countries,” with a clear focus on the Western Balkans. It is not wishful thinking; it is method.

Within this framework, San Marino plays a textbook case of micro-institutional realism. The Association Agreement with Andorra and San Marino reached its conclusion in December 2023; in 2024 the Commission proposed to the Council its signature, provisional application and final conclusion. In plain terms: access to the Single Market modelled on the EEA, with extended cooperation and a system of supervision and jurisdiction involving the Commission and the Court of Justice. Not a “passport of convenience,” but a regulatory transmission belt, with transitional periods and safeguard clauses.

At the heart of the agreement lies pragmatism: regulatory homogeneity, competitive parity, and—where needed—graduality. On the free movement of persons, carefully calibrated safeguards are foreseen to avoid micro-demographic shocks, including quantitative limits on certain categories of residence. Less folklore, more institutional engineering. The European Parliament is already examining the dossiers, with committees producing technical opinions in 2025. Proof that this is a living, not ornamental, construction site.

Another element is the frontier. In May 2024 the Council authorised negotiations for a border management agreement with San Marino. It is the logical continuation of the path towards a more integrated and secure area of mobility, complementing the economic association. Borders, when they work, are invisible. When they do not, they are costly.

Here the domestic machinery comes into play. The Secretary of State for Internal Affairs, Andrea Belluzzi, presides over the dossiers of simplification, public administration and procedural alignment—the invisible layer without which association would falter. His remit, formalised in 2024 and confirmed since, places him at the centre of the translation of the acquis and of the administrative reforms required by the agreement. This is where agreements are won or lost: forms, deadlines, interoperability. Minute politics, macro effects.

On the external front, Luca Beccari has done what one expects of a Foreign Secretary in a small but ambitious State: disciplined negotiation, control of the European timetable, and continuous liaison with institutions and parliaments, including an official hearing before the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 2025. It is the unglamorous work that prevents regulatory “black swans” and builds credibility. It is called diplomacy, not press-conferencing.

Why does all this matter to the Balkans? Because the credibility of enlargement policy is measured by the Union’s consistency in integrating those who share its rules and shoulder its obligations. If the EU demonstrates its ability to integrate micro-States with modern and proportionate instruments, it is more authoritative when demanding tough yet realistic reforms from Belgrade, Skopje or Tirana. Italy’s proposal pushes precisely in this direction: progressive integration, interconnected economic chains, common security. San Marino, with its “compliance first” approach, is a concrete reminder that regulatory rigour can co-exist with institutional flexibility.

This is not a gala dinner. The agreement with San Marino and Andorra carries burdens: surveillance on competition, state aid, procurement, food safety, financial services with staggered access. But it is a pact that benefits all if the chain functions: the EU, which strengthens the coherence of the Single Market; San Marino, which reduces friction for businesses and workers; and Italy, which sees its immediate economic and social neighbourhood stabilised. A choice of well-understood interests, not courtesy.

To those who fear that the micro-States are “destabilising exceptions,” it is worth recalling the Andreotti lesson: equilibrium is built on real weight, not caricatures. Belluzzi and Beccari are doing San Marino’s part—bringing its administration into line and keeping the course with Brussels. The EU must do the rest: close the procedures swiftly, set clear timelines for entry into force, and accompany the implementation phase. Meanwhile, on enlargement to the Balkans, Italy has signalled both direction and political calendar. The time for make-believe has expired.

In the end, Europe is strengthened if it binds together macro-strategies and micro-solutions. The integration of the Western Balkans and the association of the micro-States are not separate chapters but the same story: a denser network of rules, rights and responsibilities. That is what politics is for. All else is background noise.

Written by Lorenzo Grassini, expert in international geopolitics