Brussels – The more, the merrier. For Montenegro’s ambassador to the European Union, Petar Marković, the possibility of Iceland joining the ranks of EU candidate countries is not a problem – quite the contrary. “We can share 28th place. At the moment, we have closed more chapters than Iceland, and we expect to close others before their referendum on accession, so that the race becomes equally interesting for both of us,” the ambassador said speaking to The New Union Post, in the wake of the 26th Accession Conference, which confirmed the provisional conclusion of another chapter in the negotiations.
According to The Union Post, if the August 29 referendum reopens EU accession negotiations, Iceland could quickly overtake Montenegro as the favourite to become the next member state.
Marković takes stock of Podgorica’s recent progress, the challenges ahead, and the next steps needed to achieve the goal of closing all chapters by the end of the year. At the same time, he emphasises that “any good news for the other candidates,” whether they are in negotiations, potential candidates, or on hold, “is good news” for the EU’s overall enlargement policy. “Just as we have never envied the progress of Ukraine or Moldova, we do not envy the sudden prospect of Iceland joining the race,” he noted.
Currently, Montenegro has provisionally closed 14 out of 33 chapters. Iceland would resume from the 12 chapters it had closed prior to 2013 if accession negotiations were reopened. According to Marković, it is not impossible that Montenegro and Iceland could join the EU “together, or within a very short time of one another.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
