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Montenegro - EU Relations

A majority of the population support EU membership. ntegration into the European Union is Montenegro’s strategic goal. This process will remain in the focus of Montenegrin foreign policy in the forthcoming period as it is the most important task in external and internal terms. Montenegro sees the EU as the optimal framework to accommodate further reforms, and wishes to harmonise with European standards and enhance bilateral relations with EU member states. There is a general consensus in Montenegro about the need to integrate into the EU that gives an additional impetus for speedy progress towards this goal. The speed of our integration progress will depend on economic, political, judiciary, security and general reform, i.e. on the degree to which the whole society will be engaged in the process.

Progress on EU accession reforms has largely stalled, as Montenegro has suffered from deep polarisation and political instability in the 2023 reporting period. The EU welcomes the constitution of the new parliament and the formation of the government, which we expect to swiftly demonstrate its capacity and commitment to Montenegro's EU path and deliver on EU accession related reforms. Overall, progress is in the accession negotiations will depend on reforms in the area of rule of law (i.e. meeting the interim benchmarks set out in Chapters 23 and 24). Montenegro continues to fully align with the Common Foreign Security Policy.

The EU formally took the decision to open Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 3 October 2005 and the ceremonial opening of negotiations took place on 10 October. Official and technical rounds of negotiations follow every couple of months. The decision followed a positive Feasibility Study in April 2005 – a Commission led evaluation report establishing whether a country is ready to negotiate a SAA with the EU. The EU made clear that the 'pace and conclusion' of SAA talks would depend on 'progress in developing legislative framework and administrative capacity, the effective implementation of the constitutional charter, and full co-operation with the ICTY'.

On 3 May 2006 EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn suspended SAA negotiation talks following an assessment by ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte that Belgrade was not co-operating fully with the Tribunal, particularly in respect of the high profile fugitive indictee Ratko Mladic. The decision followed several warnings from the EU earlier in the year. However, following independence and a positive report from the ICTY on Montenegro’s co-operation, SAA talks were restarted on 26 September 2006.

Montenegro completed their SAA negotiations on 1 December 2006, and after consultations with EU Member States, initialled the text of the Agreement in Podgorica in March 2007. The SAA was signed at the GAERC in Luxembourg on 15 October. In parallel an Interim Agreement on trade and trade related issues, was signed enabling the trade-related provisions of the SAA to come into force on 1 January 2008. The signing of Montenegro’s SAA brought them one step closer to the EU, by establishing a far-reaching contractual relationship.

On 15 December 2008 Prime Minister of Montenegro presented a formal application for EU membership to the President of the European Council. In April 2009 the Council decided to implement the procedure laid down in Article 49 of the Treaty on the European Union and the Commission was requested to submit to the Council its Opinion on the application by Montenegro (the "avis"). The Commission started work on its Opinion by sending Montenegro a comprehensive list of questions relating to the Copenhagen criteria and the conditions set for the stabilisation and association process. This questioinnaire was handed over by Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn to Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic on 22 July 2009.

Work on preparing the answers is ongoing and the Montenegrin Government intends to hand over the response during November 2009. The ‘opinion’ of the Commission assesses the applicant’s fulfilment of the criteria for accession, including its ability to assume the obligations of membership. This means a thorough analysis of the state of play in EU related reforms. A country’s satisfactory track record in implementing its obligations under the SAA (including the trade related provisions) is an essential element for the EU to consider any membership application.

Since 2007, Montenegro has received financial assistance under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), which had been implemented by the European Commission Delegaton in Podgorica since September 2008. The 2007-2009 Multi-Annual Indicative Planning Document (MIPD) for Montenegro was adopted in June 2007. In 2009 a total of €33.3 million was allocated to Montenegro. The main focus was on the institutional changes required for the continuation of the transition process and EU integration and priority areas were rule of law, including justice and police reform, labor and safety at work, environmental protection, railways, state financial management and audit, and alignment to internal market legislation.

EU financial support has been provided to civil society development under the Civil Society Facility. Under the national IPA program for 2009. €2.2 million was earmarked for projects aiming to enhance civil society organisations contribution to the social, economic and political development of Montenegro, in areas such as social welfare, social education, preventative health, inter-cultural dialogue, transparency and accountability of the public administration, judiciary and parliament.

The Progress Report on Montenegro is part of the 2013 Enlargement Package adopted today by the European Commission. This is the second Progress Report on Montenegro since the country opened accession negotiations with the EU in June 2012. The European Commission concluded that the country has made further progress in establishing a functioning market economy, has improved its ability to take on the obligations of EU membership, and continues to sufficiently meet the political criteria.

The screening meetings have been completed. Two negotiating chapters have been opened and provisionally closed. The accession negotiations have integrated the new approach for the chapters 23 (judiciary and fundamental rights), and 24 (justice, freedom and security). Montenegro adopted Action Plans for both. On this basis, Montenegro was invited to send its negotiating position on these chapters, which it submitted in early October. The implementation of the action plans will determine the overall pace of the negotiations. Montenegro will need to further develop its track record in this area, in particular with respect to high-level corruption and organised crime.

Montenegro continues to sufficiently meet the political criteria for EU membership. During the reporting period, it faced a number of political challenges, including allegations of misuse of public funds for party political purposes, a lack of trust in the electoral process, the need to address the shortcomings identified by the OSCE/ODIHR concerning the electoral legislation, and the need to complete the constitutional amendments in order to strengthen the independence of the judiciary. Parliament adopted these constitutional amendments in July. A working group, set up to examine how to improve trust in the electoral system, had, by September, already adopted a number of recommendations on electoral legislation. An inquiry committee set up to investigate the "audio recordings affair" (alleged misuse of public funds for party political purposes) could not agree on conclusions and limited itself to adopting a technical report of its investigation in July. Montenegro has continued to play a constructive role in the region and to respect its international commitments, including the conditions of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

Continued efforts are needed to efficiently implement the action plans on chapters 23 and 24, as well as to build a sustainable track record in the fight against corruption and organised crime. Attacks against journalists are a cause for concern and need to be investigated and prosecuted.

Macroeconomic stability has been broadly maintained. After entering into recession in 2012, the country came out of it in 2013. The current account deficit is declining but still remains very high. In July, the aluminium producer KAP was put into bankruptcy procedure, which represents a risk to public finances, in view of the considerable size of its contingent liabilities. Some progress has been made towards a functioning market economy. However, Montenegro needs to strengthen competitiveness, by improving productivity and attracting further Foreign Direct Investments into other sectors in addition to tourism and real estate.

Montenegro continued the alignment process over the reporting period. The country was at varying degrees of alignment with the EU legislation. Chapter 25 – Science and Research and 26 – Education and Culture were opened and provisionally closed. The Commission has recommended the opening of accession negotiations for Chapters 5 – Public Procurement, 6 – Company Law, 7 – Intellectual Property Law, 10 – Information Society and Media, 16 – Taxation and 20 – Enterprise and Industrial Policy.

Opening benchmarks have been set for Chapters 1 – Free movement of goods, 3 – Right of establishment and freedom to provide services, 8 – Competition policy (opening benchmarks related to the restructuring of KAP), 11 – Agriculture and rural development, 12 – Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, 22 – Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments. The Commission recommended the opening of Chapters 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights and 24 – Justice, Freedom and Security after it assessed that Montenegro fulfilled the opening benchmarks.

Montenegro's limited administrative capacity represents a challenge in a number of areas and needs to be strengthened to ensure effective implementation of EU legislation.

Key dates

• 1999: The EU proposes the new Stabilisation and Association Process for countries of Southeast Europe
• June 2000: The European Council states that all the Stabilisation and Association countries are potential candidates for EU membership
• June 2003: Thessaloniki Summit: EU perspective for the Western Balkans is confirmed
• June 2006: the EU decides to establish relations with Montenegro as a sovereign and independent state
• October 2007: The Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU is signed
• December 2008: Montenegro presents its application for membership to the EU
• December 2009: Visa-free travel to Schengen area for citizens of Montenegro
• May 2010: The SAA enters into force
• November 2010: The European Commission issues its Opinion on Montenegro's application for EU membership
• December 2010: The European Council grants candidate status to Montenegro
• June 2012: The accession negotiations are formally opened at the first Intergovernmental Conference.
• June 2013: The screening process is completed.
• August 2013: The Commission recommends the opening of Chapters 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights and 24 – Justice, Freedom and Security.
• December 2013: 'Rule of Law' chapters 23 and 24 are opened, along with three other chapters
• by November 2016: 24 out of 35 chapters have been opened (of which two are provisionally closed).

The year 2016 saw the continuation of accession negotiations with the EU. The parliamentary elections of October 2016 were conducted under a substantially revised legal framework and, overall, in a more participatory and transparent manner. In December 2015, Montenegro received an invitation to join NATO, which is an important achievement. Montenegro's EU agenda is concentrate on reforms concerning the rule of law. The legal framework in this area law was largely complete and the institutional set-up was in place.

Progress on the rule of law chapters, demonstrated by tangible results notably on fighting corruption and organised crime, will continue to determine the pace of accession negotiations overall. Corruption remains prevalent in many areas and continues to be a serious problem. The Anti-Corruption Agency started its work in 2016. The process of institution building is largely complete. All institutions should demonstrate a more proactive attitude to fulfilling their mandate. Despite some further steps taken, the track record both on successful investigations and convictions, in particular in high-level corruption cases, and on prevention of corruption remains limited. Montenegro needs to increase the capacity to carry out financial investigations and establish track records of seizure and confiscation of criminal assets. Montenegro has achieved some level of preparation in the fight against organised crime. Some progress was made, notably on strengthening the legal, regulatory and institutional framework. Efforts should continue to develop the track record in organised crime cases, especially as regards trafficking in human beings and money laundering where results are limited. The number of suspicious bank transactions detected remains low.