The Council of the European Union (EU) is ready to start preparations for drafting the accession agreement with Montenegro, provided that Montenegro maintains persistent reform progress and implements the necessary reforms.
This will be confirmed by the ministers responsible for European affairs through the conclusions they will adopt at the meeting on December 17. Radio Free Europe (RSE) has access to a draft of these conclusions.
Through its conclusions, the Council of the EU will especially praise Montenegro for fulfilling the temporary benchmarks from Chapters 23 and 24 on the rule of law as a whole.
As stated in the draft conclusions, a positive IBAR for Montenegro is "an important milestone that marks the beginning of a new and final phase in the accession negotiations".
After several years of stagnation, in June of this year, Montenegro unfroze the accession negotiations with the European Union.
Now, Montenegro is in the process of closing all chapters in the negotiations, with the ambition to end the process by the end of 2026, in order to become a full member of the EU by the end of this decade.
Otherwise, the European Union usually starts working on a draft accession agreement with a candidate country after the accession negotiations are largely completed. This usually happens after the European Commission and the candidate country reach a consensus that the country is satisfactorily aligned with the EU acquis and has met the necessary political, economic and administrative conditions.
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During this month, a new intergovernmental conference with Montenegro should be held, where the country intends to close some chapters. Montenegro has the ambition to close four chapters.
"The Council looks forward to being able to temporarily close further chapters as soon as possible, when the conditions for this are met," the draft conclusions for Montenegro, which should be adopted by the ministers in mid-December, state.
A possible intergovernmental conference with Montenegro could be held in the third week of December. During that week, various EU meetings at the ministerial level will be held, as well as the regular leaders' summit.
At the meeting of the Council of General Affairs of the EU, on December 17, the ministers responsible for European affairs will adopt a package of conclusions on the countries that are in the process of enlargement. These conclusions will then be confirmed by the European Council, that is, the leaders of EU states and governments, at the summit that will be held on December 19.
In the part of the conclusions related to Montenegro, the ministers of European affairs will welcome "very positive results in fulfilling long-term reform obligations". The aim of the Government of Montenegro to continue the rapid progress of the country on the way to the EU will be praised and in this context it will call on the political forces to follow this ambitious plan for closing the accession negotiations.
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The Council will welcome Montenegro's progress towards the re-functioning of the main judicial bodies, for accelerating and deepening the implementation of key judicial reforms and adopting a new strategic framework and finalizing a certain number of pending appointments of judges, through transparent merit-based procedures.
"These measures help to improve the independence, accountability, impartiality, integrity, efficiency and professionalism of the Judicial System," the draft conclusions state. In this regard, the appointment of a new permanent president of the Supreme Court is welcomed.
Through these conclusions, the Council of the EU will welcome good progress and encourage the country with reform efforts, especially in key areas such as freedom of expression and the media, including the protection of journalists and the fight against corruption and organized crime, and public administration reforms.
However, the country is warned that it needs to improve its track record in investigations, prosecutions, final convictions and the seizure and confiscation of criminal assets, including high-level ones.
Montenegro is also expected to make progress in comprehensive electoral reform, including amendments to the law on the financing of political entities to bring it in line with European standards, as well as ensuring the independence of the Election Commission and the transparency of the voter list.
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