Brussels – Three steps forward for Montenegro in the process of joining the European Union. Today (12 October), the EU and Podgorica provisionally closed three negotiation chapters concerning economic and monetary policy, statistics, and social and employment policy, the Council of the EU said in a press release.
On 2 October, during von der Leyen’s visit to the Montenegrin Prime Minister, Milojko Spajić, the head of the EU executive had stated that Montenegro was in the “final stretch” to accession to the Union. But now the gap is narrowing ever further. Of the 33 open negotiation chapters, Podgorica has now provisionally closed 21.
“Montenegro is making continued progress towards the closure of all remaining chapters,” said Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Minister for European Affairs and Defence, speaking on behalf of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU. “Enlargement is a geopolitical necessity for the EU and remains a top priority of the Irish presidency,” he added.
These provisional closures follow the previous Accession Conference of 14 July 2026, which provisionally closed the chapters on competition policy and the customs union. According to the negotiating principles approved by the Accession Conference, “agreements reached during negotiations on specific chapters cannot be considered final” until a comprehensive agreement has been reached on all chapters.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
