Montenegro has continued to make progress towards meeting the final benchmarks in the negotiation chapters related to the rule of law (23 and 24), but their closure requires additional results in judicial reform, the fight against corruption and organized crime, visa policy harmonisation, border management, as well as in the area of media freedom, the European Commission (EC) assessed in a new non-paper.
In this unofficial diplomatic document on chapters 23 (judiciary and fundamental rights) and 24 (justice, freedom and security), the EC states that Montenegro has continued to implement the legislative framework in the area of justice and that this has resulted in additional positive results.
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It is recalled that the Government has established a proposal for amendments to the Constitution with the aim of strengthening the independence of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, fully in line with the recommendations of the EC and the Venice Commission (VC), that work has continued on the implementation of the Judicial Reform Strategy and its action plan, that the institutional stability and strategic vision of the Supreme Court, the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office (SPO) and the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SPO) have been further strengthened...
However, delays in transparent and merit-based appointments to high-level positions, including the Constitutional Court, the Judicial Council and the Prosecutorial Council, are reported to be hampering their effective functioning.
An additional challenge, they say, is the retirement of judges, with the risks being particularly pronounced in the Supreme Court due to ambiguities in the current legal framework, the Commission assessed in a non-paper that provides a factual overview of the overall situation in terms of fulfilling the final benchmarks in chapters 23 and 24 and identifies areas where further progress is needed for the period since the last EC report on Montenegro, published in November last year.
Montenegro, as stated in the document that “Vijesti” had access to, continues to implement key laws that guarantee the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, which are now largely in line with European standards. However, amendments to the Law on the Judicial Council and Judges, as well as the Law on the State Prosecutor's Office, have not yet been adopted in order to implement the remaining recommendations of the VK and GRECO (Group of States against Corruption of the Council of Europe). A special law on the employment rights of judges is also being prepared.
It is recalled that the procedure for amending the Constitution has been initiated in order to further strengthen the guarantees of the independence of the judiciary. In February, the Government adopted a proposal that envisages three key changes: the removal of the provision that the Minister of Justice is a member of the Judicial Council ex officio, adequate representation of judges elected by their colleagues in the Judicial Council, and the incorporation of existing legal provisions on the composition and election of the Prosecutorial Council into the highest legal act.
It was further noted that the Law on the Special State Prosecutor's Office has yet to be aligned with the GoK's key recommendations regarding increased accountability, clearer operational frameworks, strengthened protection of personal data, and a strategy to significantly reduce the backlog of cases.
Without delay, elect US judges
It is recalled that at the end of 2025, the parliament elected two new judges to the Constitutional Court (CC), which strengthened its operational functioning despite delays in appointments, but that there are still two vacant positions, for which a majority was not required in parliament. Therefore, the mandate of one judge (Desanka Lopičić), navodi EK.
"The lack of clear legal rules on the retirement of judges has created uncertainty, which has prompted the president (of the state) to request an assessment from the Constitutional Court on the continuation of her (Lopičić) mandate after reaching retirement age," the document states.
The EC says that parliament must act decisively to appoint two judges without delay, while the state still needs to implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission on clear rules for the retirement of Constitutional Court judges.
In April, the government adopted draft amendments to the Law on the Constitutional Court, in line with EC guidelines and the recommendations of the Supreme Court, which were submitted to parliament, “which must adopt them urgently.”
It is recalled that in March 2026, the parliament adopted only amendments to that law, which reintroduced a temporary 30 percent salary increase for judges and prosecutors, previously adopted in June 2025, which expired in December of that year. The extension will last until December 31, 2026.
"This temporary measure should be replaced by a systemic reform to ensure legal certainty," the EC said.
Officials pressure the judiciary
He adds that cases of public comment by high-ranking officials and political figures on current, high-profile cases have continued, and in September, parliament requested a control hearing of the Supreme and Special State Prosecutors on a specific high-level corruption case, "which is not in accordance with the legal and constitutional framework."
Then, during the parliamentary debate on the Prosecutorial Council's Annual Report for 2024, several members of parliament and its leadership openly criticized the prosecution and called on the Supreme State Prosecutor (Milorad Marković) to resign.
After the arrest of the former minister (Vesna Bratic) in February, the leadership of the parliament openly criticized the work of the state prosecutor's office, which led to a complaint to the Prosecutorial Council. After the Council's decision that the independence of the state prosecutor was threatened by such public statements, the parliament reacted further with criticism of the autonomous decision of the council, the document says.
"It continues to happen that senior officials and political figures publicly comment on current high-profile cases, which can contribute to undermining the public perception of the independence and impartiality of the judiciary," the EC says.
The Commission points out that appropriate public criticism of any institution, including the prosecution, is legitimate in a democratic society, but that political actors, especially those in high positions, must refrain from statements that could constitute or be interpreted as attempts to influence judicial or prosecutorial decisions or undermine their work.
The EC points out that the functioning of the judicial system continues to be hampered by the lack of strategic investments in human resources, information and communication technologies and infrastructure.
“At all levels, the number of courtrooms, working space and working conditions, including staff, legal advisors and equipment, remain inadequate, particularly for the Special State Prosecutor’s Office,” it said.
Strengthen the response to corruption
The EC assesses that Montenegro has continued to achieve results in the fight against corruption, but emphasizes that the institutional response needs to be further strengthened, especially when it comes to high-level corruption cases.
The Commission notes that the institutional framework for the fight against corruption is largely in place, but that further efforts are required to ensure full independence, efficiency and coordination.
"The joint efforts of the Supreme Court, the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office, the Special State Prosecutor's Office, the Special Police Unit and the Financial Investigation Unit in addressing systemic challenges in the fight against high-level corruption, in an independent, impartial and professional manner, continue to yield positive results," the EC assesses.
It is recalled that in April the Government adopted a proposal to amend the Constitution, which abolishes the immunity of the Prime Minister and ministers in cases of criminal offences against official duty, which includes all criminal offences related to corruption. This proposal, as explained, refers to the existing GRECO recommendation.
It was assessed that the legal framework regulating the financing of political parties continues to be hampered by shortcomings in its scope, clarity and implementation.
"The Law on Financing Political Entities and Election Campaigns has not yet been amended to be fully aligned with European standards, despite Montenegro's obligation to do so as a priority by the end of 2024," the non-paper states.
It is added that the legal framework is not aligned with the recommendations of GRECO and OSCE/ODIHR relating to significantly increasing transparency, controlling political party spending, and preventing the misuse of state resources...
"Therefore, effective safeguards and penalties for circumvention of the rules have not yet been provided," the EC states.
In addition, as the EC adds, the Law on the Election of Councilors and Representatives has not yet been harmonized with the Law on Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns, which further prevents proper and efficient control of campaign financing.
Stop political influence on the police
The non-paper assessed that the legal framework for combating serious and organized crime is largely aligned with the EU acquis, and an appropriate strategic framework has been established.
It is recalled that in December 2025, the Director of the Police Administration was appointed to a full mandate after a long period of acting in that position. However, the Assistant Directors (except for the Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit), the Head of the Special Police Unit and the Heads of Regional Security Centers continue to perform their functions in acting status.
"This situation affects the stability and sustainability of police management, which is why Montenegro should implement full-term appointments to the remaining positions as soon as possible," warns the EC.
The campaign to recruit police officers for 2025 has been completed, it added, and 350 new officers have been hired out of the planned 815 positions. A new campaign has also been launched for 2026, with the goal of hiring 534 officers.
"Montenegro should ensure that the ongoing recruitment process is based on merit and professional criteria, and that there are appropriate procedural safeguards to prevent undue political influence on law enforcement agencies," the EC said.
Discrimination due to polarization
It states that Montenegro has continued to make progress in meeting the final benchmarks of Chapter 24, but it is emphasized that additional results are needed in the fight against organized crime, money laundering, border management and harmonization of visa policy with the EU.
Montenegro has not yet adopted a comprehensive monitoring and data collection system to assess the level of implementation of human rights legislation and policies.
“There were cases of public criticism and accusations by high-ranking public officials that discredited the work and reputation of human rights defenders,” the report says.
Discrimination is reportedly still present in Montenegrin society, largely due to polarization. The most vulnerable groups in society (including Roma and Egyptians, people with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ people) continue to be exposed to discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes.
It is emphasized that Montenegro has not yet fulfilled the concluding recommendations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) from May 2024 regarding the lack of penalties for non-compliance with the Law on Gender Equality...
"Main challenges remain due to persistent gender stereotypes and inadequate training, which weaken institutional responses to violence against women in the law enforcement, justice, social and health sectors. There are serious shortcomings in victim protection, support services, coordination and data collection, with insufficient use of protective measures and inconsistent case handling," warns the EC.
Little progress in addressing attacks on journalists
The EC indicates that the authorities continue to provide a generally prompt and effective institutional and police response to new cases of violence against journalists, but that little progress has been recorded regarding old cases.
“Although the authorities have widely condemned acts of violence against journalists, cases of strong verbal attacks on the media and civil society representatives by public officials and political parties, including senior figures from the security and defense sectors, have continued,” the non-paper states.
Transparency of media ownership was assessed to have improved, however, gaps remain as there is no publicly available database on ownership for non-audiovisual media, and concerns remain regarding the lack of transparency of ownership of unregistered online media, especially news portals.
"Concerns have increased about the strong influence of Serbian media outlets and local media owned by companies established in Serbia. Online monitoring and enforcement of rules applicable to content remain a challenge," the EC points out.
It was assessed that transparency in the allocation of public funding for the media has improved, but that implementation of obligations remains a problem. It is recalled that there are a number of ongoing challenges in the sector and that almost three quarters of media employees earn below the national average wage.
The document notes that in March, the Parliament initiated the procedure for appointing new members of the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services and RTCG.
“Criminal proceedings are still ongoing in connection with allegations against members of the RTCG Council for abuse of office in the appointment of the Director General in November 2024. In the meantime, the Director General appointed by the RTCG Council has remained in office,” the document states.
Continue to harmonize visa policy
The EC warns that Montenegro has a visa-free regime with six countries on the EU list of countries requiring a visa, five of which enjoy a permanent exemption (Belarus, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey).
"Seasonal visa waiver is not compatible with the EU acquis. Montenegro must continue to align its visa policy with that of the EU in order to meet the criteria for closing the visa policy negotiations," the EC said.
Prevent the re-emergence of economic citizenship
The non-paper states that in order to ensure compliance with EU legislation, Montenegro should abolish the legal basis that enables the (re)development of the investor citizenship program.
Citing a ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU, the EC assesses that such programs violate EU legislation on citizenship and the principle of sincere cooperation.
"Such programs also pose risks related to security, money laundering, tax evasion, terrorist financing, corruption and organized crime infiltration," the EC states.
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