Podgorica has closed 14 of the 33 chapters that need to be provisionally closed before it joins the bloc. Rule of law remains the toughest hurdle, with Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos urging Montenegro to keep reforms going.
The country of some 600,000 people became an EU candidate in 2010, four years after splitting from Serbia, and opened accession talks in 2012. It has set the goal of becoming a member by 2028, even putting ’28 by 28′ branding on its national airline.
The Commission aimed to use Montenegro as a test subject for its plans to prevent another “Hungary 2.0,” a gradual, two-tier accession proposal designed to curb democratic backsliding after countries join, but one that has faced pushback from EU member countries in recent months.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also met with Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatović on Wednesday during a visit to the country.
Milatović wrote on X that they discussed “key factors we must work on as a country in the final stage of negotiations with the European Union,” including regional stability and credible NATO membership.