Von der Leyen: Montenegro is close to EU membership

2025-10-14 13:24:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

"The goal of Montenegro joining the European Union is truly close to being achieved," declared European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as she opened the first Montenegro-EU investment conference in the tourist resort of Lushtica, near Tivat.

Von der Leyen said that positive steps have been taken and that the time has come to invest in Montenegro.

"You are very ambitious and we like that," said the head of the European Commission.

As the European official emphasized, reforms in the field of the rule of law should be accelerated, there should be transparency in public procurement and in this way a signal should be sent that Montenegro is a reliable place for business development.

The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic, assessed that the EU is the most important strategic partner and the largest investor in Montenegro.

He announced a cycle of investments that await Montenegro in the coming years.

"A cycle that will attract over 3 billion euros. This is the main message from today: Montenegro is open for business and now is the time to invest."

Spajic reiterated the position that Montenegro is on the verge of EU membership.

"By the end of 2026, we will close all negotiation chapters, in order to become members of the bloc by the end of 2028," said Spajic.

He also emphasized that this is an opportunity for the EU to show that the enlargement policy "is alive."

At the conference, which was dedicated to sustainable development, four European investment projects in the Montenegrin economy will be presented and ten memoranda of understanding in various fields will be signed.

Brussels evaluates Podgorica's foreign policy

At the press conference after the opening of the conference, Von der Leyen stressed that the European Union highly values ??Montenegro's alignment with Brussels' foreign and security policy, especially regarding relations with Russia.

"Russian aggression against Ukraine has reshaped our continent. Every European nation must choose its place and side, and Montenegro has already made this choice very clearly. You are fully aligned with the EU's foreign and security policy. We deeply appreciate the decision to send Montenegrin soldiers to support our training mission for Ukraine," Von der Leyen said.

She encouraged Montenegro to use the 380 million euros from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans and also announced that roaming between Montenegro and the EU will be abolished next year.

"Montenegro will now receive 8 million euros after fulfilling the conditions, but it must continue with reforms to reach the conditions for using the entire 380 million fund that has been foreseen for Montenegro," said the senior European official.

New EU Progress Report, November 4

The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic, said that the European Commission's report on Montenegro's progress is expected to be published on November 4.

"It is a realistic reflection of the situation, it will reflect the great results that have been achieved in the past period, but it will also show the challenges and tasks that we must fulfill in the coming period."

That report will assess the fulfillment of the membership criteria, with a focus on the rule of law and the fight against corruption, democracy and approximation with EU laws.

Since last year's report, Montenegro has closed four negotiation chapters, the last in June, which deals with public procurement.

Earlier, in December 2024, it closed three – chapters 7 (Intellectual property law and property), 10 (Information society and media) and 20 (Entrepreneurship and industrial policy).

Montenegro began accession negotiations with the EU 13 years ago and has so far closed seven negotiation chapters out of a total of 33./ Rel