Montenegro won fresh praise from European officials after provisionally closing five more negotiating chapters in its EU accession talks, a move welcomed as a notable advance ahead of the EU–Western Balkans leaders’ summit in Brussels. With the latest closures, Montenegro has now closed 12 chapters in total, reinforcing its status as one of the most advanced candidates in the region and giving new political energy to Podgorica’s push to enter what it calls the final stretch toward membership.
The newly closed chapters cover areas central to the single market and economic governance, including the right of establishment and freedom to provide services, free movement of capital, company law, agriculture and rural development, and fisheries. Prime Minister Milojko Spajić presented the decision as tangible encouragement for both Montenegro and EU institutions to intensify work, while Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatović used the moment to call for stronger domestic unity, arguing that the country’s day-to-day political culture must match the standards it is seeking to join.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos underscored that the pace now has to be matched by deeper reforms, especially in fields that traditionally determine whether accession negotiations can be concluded credibly. She pointed to the independence of the judiciary, stronger anti-corruption measures, and safeguards for free media as priorities that must accelerate if Montenegro is to meet its ambition of finishing negotiations by the end of 2026.
The Brussels summit also highlighted uneven progress across the Western Balkans. Kosovo, which applied for EU candidate status in December 2022, is still waiting for Brussels to review its application, even as its leaders continue to press for a clearer pathway. At the same time, the EU decided to lift some measures imposed on Kosovo in 2023 following tensions in the Serb-majority north, a step that Kosovo officials say has already unlocked the restoration of previously suspended project funding.
Serbia, by contrast, signaled a sharper divergence in tone. President Aleksandar Vučić said Serbia would not attend the event in Brussels, framing his absence as a matter of defending national interests and pointing to the urgency of the situation around the oil company NIS, which has been affected by US sanctions due to Russian ownership links. The broader context remains Serbia’s stalled accession track, with no new negotiation cluster opened in four years and repeated warnings from EU reporting that the speed and substance of reforms have slowed.
