The EU-Montenegro Intergovernmental Conference will be held today in Brussels and the last negotiation chapter 8 – Competition will be officially opened. Having in mind the current situation due to the coronavirus epidemic and restrictions when it comes to the attendance, Mr Bojan Šarkić, head of Misssion of Montenegro to the EU, will be attending the conference on behalf of Montenegro, while Ms Irena Andraši, the permanent representative of Croatia to the EU, and Mr Christian Danielson, director-general of the EU Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, will be present on behalf of the EU.
On this day, eight years ago, the EU started negotiaton talks with Montenegro. On the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the EU negotiations, chief negotiator, Mr Aleksandar Drljević, said yestreday that Montenegro has achieved great results in cooperation with the EU and that it’s important now to show that our institutions and our legislative framework are absolutely functional. With the last chapter officially opened, Mr Drljević added, Brussels administration has shown that enlargement policy remains active in these difficult times when we are all faced with coronavirus pandemic.
“There’s still a lot to be done in the next negotiating phase. By that, I mean the area of rule of law and chapters 23 and 24 which will remain in the spotlight.”
European integration of Montenegro
Results that Montenegro has achieved on the road to the EU rely on exhaustive and dedicated work, as well as the partnership with the EU that was set as a goal after the restoration of independence in 2006.
Ever since the first treaty was signed with the EU – the Stabilization and Association Agreement on 15 Oct. 2007, further successes have followed, such as providing a visa-free regime for Montenegro citizens, applying for membership in the Union, but also complex tasks such as submission of answers to the Questionnaire of the European Commission until obtaining the candidate status on 17 Dec. 2010.
Hard work and achieved results were crowned with the official start of the accession talks on 29 June 2012 in Brussels. Montenegro started accession talks with the EU as the first country that negotiated within the new approach, i.e. chapters that referred to the rule of law – 23 Justice System and Fundamental Rights and 24 – Justice, Freedom and Security took a central place in negotiations.
