BRUSSELS – Montenegro’s President and Prime Minister, Jakov Milatović and Milojko Spajić, announced that the country is set to close five negotiating chapters at an intergovernmental conference on 16 December. As it was stated by the Council for European Western Balkans, the final decision will be taken this evening at the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) meeting.
As currently stated on the Council’s website, Montenegro will close three negotiation chapters in its accession negotiations with the European Union: Chapter 3 (Right of Establishment and Freedom to Provide Services), Chapter 4 (Free Movement of Capital), and Chapter 6 (Company Law).
During last week’s COREPER meeting, France initially vetoed the closure of an additional two chapters: Chapter 11 (Agriculture and Rural Development) and Chapter 13 (Fisheries). However, following a diplomatic push by the Montenegrin authorities, it was announced that France would give the green light to the closure of these two chapters.
The final decision will be taken tonight at the COREPER meeting.
As our portal has learned, France’s condition is the introduction of additional monitoring after the closure of these two chapters.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić is scheduled to arrive in Brussels on 16 December, where he will speak alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference following the formal ceremony marking the closure of chapters.
With the expected closure of these five chapters, Montenegro would enter the coming year, likely a decisive one, with 12 chapters closed. The goal remains to close 21 chapters by the end of 2026, in order to meet the conditions for EU accession by the end of 2028.
Montenegro has also fulfilled all the requirements for the closure of Chapter 31 (Common Foreign, Security and Defence Policy), but the decision was previously postponed at the request of Croatia.
