Montenegro officially closed five other chapters in the accession negotiations at the 24th Intergovernmental Conference held in Brussels on Tuesday 16 December.
This package includes Chapters 3 (right of establishment and freedom to provide services), 4 (free movement of capital), 6 (company law), 11 (agriculture and rural development) and 13 (fisheries) and brings the total number of chapters closed by the country to twelve.
“You want to become the 28th Member State by 2028. It’s ambitious, but we appreciate it”. These were the words of encouragement spoken in October by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during a visit to Podgorica (see EUROPE 13730/20). She emphasised the country’s full alignment with the European Union’s foreign and security policy, particularly with regard to Ukraine and the sanctions against Moscow.
Of the six Western Balkan countries applying for integration, Montenegro and Albania remain the most advanced in the process. For the first time, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, has even raised the possibility of one or two countries joining the EU before the end of the decade. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)