Strik on two more chapters; Kos: Even if it doesn't close all of them by the end of the year, Montenegro can become a member in 2028

Montenegro closed two more negotiation chapters today in Brussels at the Intergovernmental Conference with the EU, Chapter 8 - Competition and Chapter 29 - Customs Union.

This brings Montenegro's total score in the "European race" to 18 closed chapters, out of a total of 33, all of which are open.

Chapter 14 (Transport Policy) was also ready for closure, but Croatia did not receive the green light, as it raised the issue of cabotage, i.e. the right of carriers from one country to carry out transport within another country.

Croatia has already blocked one negotiation chapter for Montenegro (Chapter 31 – Foreign, Security and Defense Policy) due to unresolved bilateral issues.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said at a press conference that Montenegro could not have received better news for the Statehood Day it celebrated yesterday.

"Today we celebrate Super Tuesday... We have closed more than half of the negotiation chapters," said Spajić.

He emphasized that reforms require responsible and often difficult decisions, but that they are the basis of Montenegro's European path.

"European policy in the areas in which we are closing chapters today protects fair competition. Montenegro has shown that it is ready to make the decisions necessary to preserve that principle," said Spajić.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said that with Montenegro, closing the chapter is already a "familiar process" that is nearing its end.

"Bobotov kuk, we are getting closer to you," Kos said, alluding to her promise to climb that peak of Durimitor when Montenegro enters the EU.

She said that today they held four Intergovernmental Conferences with four candidates, which has not happened since 2002. She added that today's Intergovernmental Conference is the seventh in the last year and a half at which Montenegro is closing chapters.

She emphasized that the chapters that Montenegro closed today will benefit citizens and businesses.

"For companies that want to invest in Montenegro, this means that they will be able to operate in Montenegro under a set of rules that is the same as in the EU, which means less administrative burden, documents, checks and borders," Kos explained.

Responding to questions from journalists, Kos said that there will never be a question of creating a second-tier membership, and that it is not true that Montenegro, if it does not complete the process (of closing the chapter) by the end of the year, cannot become a member in 2028.

"It will be crucial how quickly the ratification process proceeds in all member states," she said.

She said that the goal of the European Commission, and the hope of the member states and candidate countries, is full membership in the European Union, with full responsibilities and the same rights.

Irish Minister for European Affairs Thomas Berne said that much of the current debate about different forms of membership actually stems from frustration that the (enlargement) process is taking too long.

"My response to that today is that we need to push the process forward as quickly as possible, which is what we are doing at the technical level, in order to create momentum at the political level," he said.

He added that Marta Kos is right and that even if the process (of closing the chapter for Montenegro) is moved to January or something similar, it would not prevent membership in 2028.

"Therefore, we will simply continue to do the work entrusted to us, which is to make progress in negotiations so that Montenegro becomes a full member of the European Union," he said.

As he said, Montenegro is in the final steps of the accession process.

"We encourage Montenegro to work on all chapters and remaining reforms and to join the EU," Bern said, adding that the EU Council is ready to assist Montenegro's candidacy as soon as the conditions are met.

Spajić said that, if we look only at the numbers, Montenegro has closed 18 chapters, with 15 more remaining.

"However, all 15 chapters are at a readiness level of more than 90 percent. So, it's not a matter of starting now and having to close all 15 by the end of this year," he said, adding that they have already sent the documentation to the European Commission.

He recalled that there is a prescribed procedure that must be followed before member states can express a position and vote.

"As we said, it is necessary for all 27 member states to agree that we have reached a sufficient and appropriate level of readiness for each chapter and that we have met all the closing benchmarks for a specific chapter. This process is not simple. However, when it comes to our part of the work, as I said, I think that in a month or two we will have completed literally everything - all the technical work that needs to be done for accession to the European Union," said Spajić.

He reiterated that Montenegro wants to openly discuss safeguard mechanisms with member states and see how it can avoid repeating some of the mistakes of the past.