BRUSSELS – EU member states have agreed to provisionally close Chapter 1, covering free movement of goods, in Montenegro’s EU accession negotiations. It was announced by Irish Minister Thomas Byrne.
He stated on X that he would chair an intergovernmental conference on Friday to formalise the decision under the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
“Montenegro moves forward on its EU path”, Byrne stated on
Chapter 1 concerns the rule governing the free movement of goods within the EU’s single market. So far, Montenegro has provisionally closed 21 of its 33 negotiating chapters.
European Affairs Minister Maida Gorčević said in an interview for MINA news agency, published on Sunday, that closing all remaining chapters by the end of 2026 is a realistic goal.
She said Montenegro had taken a crucial step towards concluding its EU accession negotiations by submitting its final negotiating positions for the remaining 12 chapters.
As she said, many chapters had been under review since September, she said, while all remaining chapters, including the most demanding, Chapter 23 and 25, had been under review since the last week.
“The next steps depend on decisions by the member states, so the timetable largely rests with them”, Gorčević said.
