Montenegro's negotiations with the European Union (EU) can only progress with new political elites, because the current authorities, despite formal progress, are simulating integration without real reforms, thus missing a rare opportunity for membership and deepening the stalemate in the process.
This was assessed by the interlocutors of "Vijesti", on the occasion of 13 years since the start of negotiations with the EU.
Assistant professor at the University of Donja Gorica Nikoleta Đukanović states that negotiations can only gain new momentum with different political elites, because those who were in power until 2020 and those who are currently simulating the integration process show only a will for functions and privileges, but not for the obligations and reforms that are an indispensable part of the integration process.
She pointed out that illustrative evidence for this thesis is the fact that the implementation of obligations from the Montenegro EU Accession Program for 2024 is only 57 percent, which is less than during the mandates of the governments that functioned before the 2020 changes.
"Not taking advantage of the opportunity that rarely arises when it comes to EU enlargement, which the Government is slowly but surely gambling on, and such a small number of closed chapters in two years of the Government despite the removal of all aggravating circumstances that prevented greater progress by 2020, requires taking responsibility for such modest results. Of course, no one in our country feels or takes responsibility, so the only question is when we will get a new potential deadline for Montenegro's EU membership, since the one for 2028 is becoming increasingly unrealistic," Đukanović told "Vijesti".
At the intergovernmental conference with the EU, which was held two days ago, Montenegro closed another negotiating chapter (5 - public procurement). This, together with the previously closed chapters, makes seven concluded out of a total of 33.
The Government announced that it has the ambition to close all negotiation chapters by the end of 2026, so that Montenegro can become a member of the EU in 2028.
"If we were to summarize what has been done, we have been negotiating for 13 years, we have closed only 7 chapters so far, and there are still 26 chapters that need to be closed by the end of 2026. Therefore, Montenegro has only one year and six months left to close 26 accession chapters. It should be recalled that even in the chapters that we have closed, the situation is not ideal, such as chapters 7 (Law and Intellectual Property), 10 (Information Society and Media) and 20 (Entrepreneurship and Industrial Policy)," she pointed out.
She warned that Montenegro is in serious trouble because "our accession negotiations have been slowed down":
"Because we have a lot of problems that we are facing, which are more typical of potential candidates, not candidates who promise to complete the negotiation process within the next year and a half."
Political analyst and journalist Aleksandar Srbinovski said that, formally, Montenegro is the most advanced candidate country in the region, but that, "realistically speaking, the process has been stalled for a long time."
"After all negotiation chapters were opened, the dynamics slowed down significantly. Although there is an institutional framework and political rhetoric supporting EU integration, reforms in key areas, especially the rule of law and the fight against corruption, remain partial. Progress is visible, but often more on paper than in practice. This is especially noticeable in the context of political instability and frequent changes of government that introduce uncertainty into the process," explained Srbinovski.
Spajić: It's going according to plan
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić announced after the intergovernmental conference that by closing Chapter 5, Montenegro has received confirmation from the European Commission (EC) and EU member states that it is on track to close all chapters next year.
"We are closing the first chapter of the Fundamental Rights Cluster in the history of EU enlargement according to the new methodology. We are monitoring the dynamics based on the EC's expert assessment. And by the end of the year we will have many more reasons to celebrate," said Spajić.
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Closing Chapter 5, he said, is a significant step towards the common ultimate goal - the completion of accession negotiations.
The Director of the European Commission's Directorate for Enlargement and Eastern Neighborhood, Hert Jan Kopman, said at the intergovernmental conference that Montenegro is fulfilling its obligations in accordance with the set plan.
"From our point of view, the next few months of this year are crucial for the completion of significant reforms, which brings us into the coming year with positive momentum and with good prospects for achieving the ambition to complete the negotiations," said Kopman.
Poland's Permanent Representative to the EU, chair of the conference, Agnieszka Bartol, said that accepting new members is a geostrategic imperative and a need for the EU.
"Your future is with us and as soon as possible. You can always count on Poland's support and assistance on that path," said Bartol.
Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ervin Ibrahimović, on the occasion of the closing of the negotiating Chapter 5, said that through concrete results, Montenegro continuously demonstrates that the enlargement process is alive and that it is decisively progressing towards the set goal.
Five, three, then just one chapter
Nikoleta Đukanović recalled that in mid-April, government representatives leading the negotiation process announced that Montenegro would close "at least six", as announced by the Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević, or as many as nine, as promised by the chief negotiator Predrag Zenović.
She explained that the chapters they were referring to relate to the free movement of capital, public procurement, agriculture, fisheries, the right to establish a company, the provision of services, as well as commercial law.
"It should also be recalled that in the original plan from 2024, Montenegro was supposed to close five chapters in the first semester of 2025. Then that number dropped to three, then to two, and now we are witnessing Montenegro closing only one chapter, with the recently published extremely critical non-paper in which the European Union lists major setbacks and missed opportunities," said Đukanović.
She assessed that the large number of opportunities and chances that Montenegro missed at the moment of the EU's open political will for enlargement was worrying.
"From the Russian aggression on Ukraine to the election of (Donald) Trump as president, the EU was almost unanimous in its desire to increase its membership, but the situation has been changing significantly recently on this issue."
Srbinovski: Key to Chapters 23 and 24
Aleksandar Srbinovski emphasized that after the closure of Chapter 5, further momentum will depend on the concrete steps that the authorities will take during the summer and autumn.
"The EU is showing readiness, but the ball is now definitely in Montenegro's court," said Srbinovski.
Responding to the question of what the most important open chapters are and what specifically hinders their closure, Srbinovski said that the key are chapters 23 and 24, which relate to the judiciary, fundamental rights and security.
He assessed that without visible progress in these areas, no other chapter can be permanently closed.
"The biggest problems are the insufficient independence of the judiciary, limited results in the fight against high-level corruption and organized crime, and the politicization of institutions. In addition, certain policies, such as the recent liberalization of the visa regime for third countries, have come into conflict with European standards, which has further slowed down the process," Srbinovski said.
The government announced on February 19 that it is currently in its economic interest to have a visa-free regime for most of the 11 countries, citing the influx of tourists and investments from those countries as the reason.
Montenegro closed three chapters in December last year: 7 - Intellectual Property Law, 10 - Information Society and Media, and 20 - Entrepreneurship and Industrial Policy.
The closure of Chapter 31 (foreign, security and defence policy) was then blocked by Croatia, after relations between the two countries deteriorated. Previously, Zagreb, in the form of a non-paper, submitted demands for the resolution of several issues that it considers open and which it claims are damaging mutual relations. Relations have been strained over a number of issues, such as the ownership of the ship “Jadran”, the memorial plaque at the Morinje camp, and most of all after the Montenegrin Parliament adopted the Resolution on the genocide in Jasenovac and the Dachau and Mauthausen camps at the end of June 2024.
In January, working groups of the ministries of foreign affairs of Montenegro and Croatia began consultations on the border at Prevlaka, ownership of the training ship "Jadran", compensation for camp inmates, succession of military property, and other issues.
On June 21, the governments of Montenegro and Croatia signed an agreement ceding the “Josip Marković” Cultural Center in Donja Lastva in the municipality of Tivat to Croatia, and negotiations are in an advanced stage on the multi-million-dollar compensation that Montenegro should pay to the prisoners from Morinje.
Electoral and judicial reform...
Nikoleta Đukanović emphasized that priority reforms should be comprehensive electoral reform, judicial reform and establishing an efficient model for evaluating the work of judges and prosecutors, adopting a law on confiscation of assets acquired through criminal activity, and the efficient implementation of financial investigations in practice, rationalizing the number of employees in public administration and establishing an efficient model that would prevent party employment and further party-based degradation of society.
In order for the negotiations to gain new momentum, Srbinovski stressed that political stability and the functionality of institutions are the first and most important thing. He pointed out that without a clear and sustainable political will, technical negotiations lose their meaning.
"Second, the reforms under Chapters 23 and 24 must move from the planning phase to the concrete implementation phase. This means appointments to judicial bodies free from political influence, a more effective fight against systemic corruption, and strengthening the capacity of institutions."
Thirdly, Srbinovski assessed that Montenegro must harmonize its controversial visa policy and demonstrate its ability to implement reforms without external pressure.
Chronology of negotiations
June 29, 2012 - The official start of the negotiation process between Montenegro and the EU
December 18, 2012 - Chapter 25 - Science and Research opened and temporarily closed;
April 15, 2013 - Chapter 26 - Education and Culture opened and temporarily closed;
December 18, 2013 - opened chapters 5 - Public Procurement, 6 - Commercial Law, 20 - Entrepreneurship and Industrial Policy, 23 - Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, 24 - Justice, Freedom and Security;
March 31, 2014 - chapters 7 - Intellectual Property Law, 10 - Information Society and Media opened;
June 24, 2014 - opened chapters 4 - Free movement of capital, 31 - Foreign, security and defence policy, 32 - Financial supervision;
December 16, 2014 - opened chapters 18 - Statistics, 28 - Consumer and Health Protection, 29 - Customs Union, 33 - Financial and Budgetary Provisions;
March 30, 2015 - chapters 16 - Taxation and 30 - External Relations opened;
June 22, 2015 - chapters 9 - Financial Services, 21 - Trans-European Networks opened;
December 21, 2015 - chapters 14 - Transport Policy and 15 - Energy opened;
June 30, 2016 - chapters 12 - Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy and 13 - Fisheries opened;
December 13, 2016 - chapters 11 - Agriculture and Rural Development and 19 - Social Policy and Employment opened;
June 20, 2017 - Chapters 1 - Free movement of goods and 22 - Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments opened; Chapter 30 provisionally closed;
December 11, 2017 - chapters 2 - Freedom of movement for workers and 3 - Right of establishment and freedom to provide services opened;
June 25, 2018 - Chapter 17 - Economic and Monetary Union opened;
December 10, 2018 - Chapter 27 - Environment and Climate Change opened;
June 30, 2020 - open negotiation Chapter 8 - Competition;
December 16, 2024 - Chapters 7 - Intellectual Property Law, 10 - Information Society and Media and 20 - Entrepreneurship and Industrial Policy closed.
June 27, 2025 - closed negotiating Chapter 5 - Public Procurement.
Pro-European rhetoric, opposite moves
Nikoleta Đukanović assessed that, apart from the specific criticisms made by the EU in specific areas, the most controversial thing is that Montenegro has not made progress in strengthening the rule of law and is facing serious problems such as violations of the law, lack of transparency, discrimination and partitocracy, along with the increasingly frequent anti-European and nationalist attitudes of the authorities that undermine the foundations of civil society.
"Also, nepotism, party employment, dealing with the civil sector and critics through harassment and dirty campaigns, and the marginalization of non-governmental organizations, show the absolute absence of political will to democratize and Europeanize society," she assessed.
At the same time, as she said, deteriorating relations with neighbors, non-alignment with European visa policy, and ignoring key recommendations from EU institutions further confirm that the current government is essentially sabotaging European integration, "although it constantly deceives citizens that its key priority is Montenegro's entry into the EU."
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