Montenegro’s Minister expects Croatian support in final EU negotiations

Montenegro’s Minister of European Affairs, Maida Gorčević, said she believes Croatia will support Montenegro in the final stages of its European Union membership negotiations, even though Zagreb has blocked the closing of Chapter 31, which covers foreign, security, and defense policy.

“I believe Croatia will support Montenegro when decisions are made in the final stage of these negotiations, as they have so far given the green light to the six chapters we closed during 2025,” Gorčević said.

The Montenegrin minister reminded that there are a number of longstanding issues and added that several commissions have been formed, with the foreign ministries of Montenegro and Croatia continuously cooperating and dialogue ongoing for months, CE Report quotes FENA.

Gorčević stated that the drafting of Montenegro’s EU accession treaty will begin mid-year, which does not mean de facto membership. Montenegro still has significant work ahead, and de facto membership will only be achieved once ratification is completed in the parliaments of the EU’s 27 member states.

“On one hand, the treaty requires technical readiness regarding all final obligations and transition periods Montenegro commits to. This is a major motivation for us and a big step, but de facto membership will only happen once ratification is finished in the parliaments of the 27 member states,” Gorčević said in an interview with Radio Television of Montenegro.

Montenegro closed five chapters in its EU accession negotiations at an intergovernmental conference in Brussels in mid-December last year. The year 2026 will be crucial, with particular challenges expected in Chapters 23 and 24, which relate to the rule of law, judicial independence, and the fight against corruption.

“In 2026, we face 21 negotiation chapters, and one chapter was already discussed in December. We have entered serious negotiations, and the Parliament adopted over 50 or 60 laws in the final days of 2025, all marked with the so-called blue flag, meaning they are tied either to the reform agenda or the closing of negotiation chapters,” Gorčević said.

Montenegro submitted its EU membership application in December 2008, and accession negotiations between Montenegro and the EU began in June 2012.

After a seven-year pause, Montenegro closed three chapters last year in January: intellectual property, information society, and industrial policy, signaling renewed momentum in the process.

In December, Montenegro closed five more chapters, including key areas such as public procurement, free movement of capital, and rural development, which was seen as a turning point, moving the country from candidate status to a serious contender for membership.

Montenegro will host an EU–Western Balkans summit in June, and Montenegrin officials emphasize that the country could join the Union in 2028, although the upcoming period will bring numerous obligations that the Montenegrin administration must fulfill on the path to EU membership.

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