Montenegro has provisionally closed two more chapters in its negotiations for European Union membership at today’s Intergovernmental Conference held in Brussels. This brings the total number of provisionally closed chapters to 23, while the country aims to close the remaining ten by the end of the year.
Today, Chapter 1 (Free Movement of Goods) and Chapter 12 (Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy) were closed, Vijesti.me reports.
On Wednesday, the European Commission presented a roadmap under which Montenegro could conclude its EU accession negotiations by the end of 2026 and sign the Accession Treaty as early as June 2027.
The Commission considers that Montenegro has met all the interim benchmarks and announced that it will submit the remaining draft common negotiating positions to the Council of the EU by mid-November.
Under the plan, five negotiating chapters are expected to be closed in November, including those covering energy, transport and taxation. In December, the remaining nine chapters are scheduled for closure, including the key Chapters 23 and 24, which concern the rule of law.
Once negotiations are concluded, work on the Accession Treaty is expected to be completed in the spring of 2027, with its signing planned for June of the same year, subject to prior approval by the European Parliament and the relevant decisions by EU institutions.
The agreement must then be ratified by all member states and Montenegro. However, the Commission emphasises that the proposed deadlines are indicative and depend on the agreement of member states and the continuation of reforms. It particularly warns that it will continue monitoring the fulfilment of obligations until accession, leaving open the possibility of introducing safeguard measures or even postponing membership if Montenegro backtracks on reforms and other measures fail to deliver results.
During the transitional period, from the signing of the Accession Treaty until full membership, Montenegro would gradually become involved in the work of EU institutions. This would also include the possibility of appointing observers to the European Parliament, while all member states and Montenegro would carry out the procedures required to ratify the treaty.
Irish Minister for European Affairs Tomas Byrne said at a press conference in Brussels that Montenegro had so far closed 23 chapters, bringing it closer to its goal of closing all chapters during Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the EU.
“The Irish Presidency remains committed to achieving the goal of closing all of Montenegro’s chapters by the end of the year. We will work together with Montenegro, the European Commission and the member states to achieve this objective,” he said.
He stressed that considerable effort lies behind every closed chapter and every reform implemented. According to him, more work remains to be done, and reforms must continue, particularly in the areas of the rule of law, institutional independence and accountability, as well as the fight against organised crime and corruption.
