On a visit to Montenegro on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 January, the Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, held talks with the Prime Minister, Milojko Spajić, before addressing the country’s Parliament later on Thursday evening.
Clearly enthusiastic, Milojko Spajić declared that his country was ready to successfully close the remaining 25 chapters “by the end of 2026”, in order to be ready to join the EU.
A goal that he admits is “very ambitious”, but “totally feasible”. “It is important to take advantage of the current momentum, we need to speed up our reforms and focus 100% on them”, he said at a joint press conference with the European Commissioner.
Montenegro recently closed three additional chapters at an intergovernmental conference in December (see EUROPE 13547/2). Along with Albania, it is the most progressed candidate country in the integration process.
Podgorica has “met the provisional benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24 on the Rule of law”, according to the EU27, which represents an “important step in the beginning of a new and final phase of accession negotiations”.
For her part, Marta Kos was keen to point out the country’s commitments to the EU and the reforms still needed to move the process forward. “It is important to celebrate the results achieved, but they should encourage you to work even harder”, she suggested to the Montenegrin head of government.
Asked about the recent protests that followed a fatal shooting earlier this month, Marta Kos stressed the importance of civil society and the need for Montenegro to “ensure an environment where freedom of assembly and expression can be fully implemented”.
As for the Serbian and Russian influence, denounced by some Montenegrin journalists present at the press conference, the Commissioner said that she was concentrating on “visible results”, which prove that Montenegro has the will to move towards the EU. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)