EU and Montenegro provisionally close another five chapters in accession negotiations

Today, the 24th meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro provisionally closed accession negotiations on 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).

The European Union delegation was led by Ms Marie Bjerre, Minister for European affairs of Denmark, on behalf of the Danish presidency of the Council of the EU, with the participation of Commissioner for Enlargement, Ms Marta Kos. The Montenegrin delegation was led by Mr Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro.

"The EU welcomes Montenegro's progress in closing five additional chapters today. This means that in total twelve negotiating chapters have already been closed - a significant step forward on the country's path towards European integration." said Marie Bjerre.

The Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, said that today's event represents a major step forward for Montenegro and the European Union.
According to her, the EU recognises Montenegro's political commitment and the progress achieved so far in the accession process.

Kos reiterated that Montenegro is the frontrunner in the integration process and the candidate with the best results, as demonstrated by the total of 12 negotiating chapters already closed.

"However, we must be honest: the most difficult part still lies ahead, because Montenegro has announced that it wants to complete the negotiations by the end of 2026, and the European Commission supports Montenegro in this endeavour. To achieve this, you will have to run fast."

Kos stressed that Montenegro must now accelerate reforms.

"Reforms in the rule of law still remains the key. The priority are appointments, in order to ensure an independent judiciary, where judges can make decisions freely and without political pressure. This also means continuing a strong fight against corruption and organised crime, so that no one is above the law," Kos said.

The Prime Minister emphasised that it is becoming evident on a daily basis that it is a realistic goal to close all chapters by the end of 2026.

"We are creating the conditions to complete everything by the end of next year," Spajić added.

"Today, when many centres of power are trying to pursue their agendas without precedent, we Europeans have no greater ideal than a united Europe," Spajić stated.

The EU may, if necessary, return to these chapters at an appropriate moment.

Chapter 5 on public procurement had already been provisionally closed at a previous Accession Conference on 27 June 2025. Monitoring of progress in the alignment with and implementation of the EU acquis will continue throughout the negotiations.

Montenegro has opened all 33 negotiating chapters in its EU accession negotiations. With the provisional closure agreed today, a total of twelve of these chapters have now been provisionally closed. According to the negotiating principles endorsed by the Accession Conference, agreements reached in the course of negotiations on specific chapters, even partial ones, may not be considered as final until an overall agreement has been reached for all chapters.