Montenegro is expected to close three more negotiating chapters today

Montenegro expects to temporarily close three more chapters today in its negotiations on accession to the European Union, which would bring the number of closed chapters to 21 out of a total of 33.

Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Filip Ivanović said that three chapters, instead of the previously announced two, would be closed at the Intergovernmental Conference in Luxembourg.

The EU Council officially announced ahead of the meeting the temporary closure of Chapter 18, which concerns statistics, and Chapter 19 – social policy and employment.

Ivanović did not specify which is the third chapter to be closed today.

Opposition Democratic Party of Socialists MP Ivan Vuković said earlier today that there is a possibility of closing Chapter 17, which relates to economic and monetary policy, if consent is received from one EU member state during the day.

If all three chapters are closed, Montenegro will have 12 out of a total of 33 negotiating chapters remaining. The country has so far temporarily closed 18 chapters, the last two – competition and customs union – in July this year.

Montenegro has been negotiating EU membership since June 2012 and has opened all 33 negotiating chapters, but the process has progressed slowly for years. By mid-2024, only three chapters had been temporarily closed.

A turning point came in June 2024, when the EU assessed that Montenegro had fully met the interim benchmarks in Chapters 23 and 24, which concern the judiciary, fundamental rights, justice, freedom, and security. This decision, known as the positive IBAR, enabled Podgorica to resume closing other negotiating chapters.

Three chapters were closed in December 2024, and during 2025 and 2026 a series of intergovernmental conferences followed, at which chapters ranging from public procurement and free movement of capital to agriculture, fisheries, financial control, transport networks, free movement of workers, consumer protection, competition, and customs union were closed.

By July this year, the total number of temporarily closed chapters had reached 18.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić’s government has set membership by 2028 as a political goal, promoting Montenegro as a potential 28th member of the Union. The European Commission also sees Montenegro as the most advanced candidate and as a country that could complete accession negotiations by the end of this year.

The most demanding remain Chapters 23 and 24, which relate to the rule of law and, according to the rules of the negotiation process, are closed last.