COREPER gives green light to two more chapters

The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States (COREPER II) today gave Montenegro the green light to close two negotiation chapters.

These are Chapter 2 - Freedom of movement for workers and Chapter 28 - Consumer and health protection.

These chapters are to be closed at the Intergovernmental Conference between Montenegro and the EU, which is scheduled for Monday.

This will bring the total number of chapters that Montenegro has closed so far to 16, out of a total of 33.

The Government's plan is to close all negotiation chapters by the end of the year, so that Montenegro can become the 28th member of the EU in 2028.

Regarding Chapter 2, "Vijesti" has learned that COREPER has accepted the 4+2+3 year model, which refers to the period during which Montenegrin citizens in certain member states would be granted the right to work freely and be treated equally as workers there. However, this does not mean that all states will apply this model, while some will use the maximum period of nine years.

As "Vijesti" previously wrote, the Netherlands requested the highest level of protection (5+5+5 years) for the closure of Chapter 2, while some member states did not request any additional mechanisms (Germany). "Vijesti"'s interlocutors explained that The Hague did not request strict conditions specifically because of Montenegro, which cannot threaten their labor market, but rather to set a precedent for future EU enlargements to countries with populations of several million.

The EU acquis in this chapter allows citizens of one EU member state to work freely in another, just like domestic workers. In other words, Montenegrin citizens could find employment in, for example, Germany, just like Germans, without any additional bureaucratic obstacles.

However, if a country uses the option to delay access to Montenegrin workers to its market, this will be stated in the Treaty on the Accession of Montenegro to the EU, in which member states will individually choose whether to use the restriction or immediately open their labor markets to Montenegrin citizens.