Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović used Thursday’s European Political Community summit in Dublin to seek support for wrapping up EU membership talks by the end of 2026. He said Montenegro aims to sign an accession treaty by summer 2027 and become the bloc’s 28th member in 2028.
Milatović singled out Ireland’s role because it holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Dublin summit, hosted by Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, brought together around 50 European leaders for talks on the continent’s security and stability. For Montenegro, it was a chance to make its case directly to governments that will have a say in the next steps.
Montenegro Has Provisionally Closed 23 of 33 Chapters
The appeal came less than a week after Montenegro and the EU provisionally closed two more negotiating chapters in Brussels. The November 6 conference covered the free movement of goods and EU rules on food safety, animal health and plant health. Prime Minister Milojko Spajić led Montenegro’s delegation.
The latest round brought the number of provisionally closed chapters to 23 out of 33. It followed an October conference that closed chapters on economic and monetary policy, statistics, and social policy and employment.
Among the chapters still open are energy, transport, taxation, and the judiciary and fundamental rights. The EU can revisit chapters it has already closed while it monitors how Montenegro applies the rules it has agreed to adopt. The individual agreements become final once negotiators reach an overall deal.
What Has to Happen Before Montenegro Can Join
The European Commission’s roadmap lists December 2026 as a possible date for a final negotiating conference. Reaching that point requires EU governments to agree that Montenegro has met the remaining conditions. They must also settle issues such as transitional arrangements, the financial terms of membership and how Montenegro would be represented in EU institutions.
Once negotiations conclude, the accession treaty still has to go through several steps. The European Parliament must give its consent, and the Council must approve admission before the treaty can be signed. Montenegro and every EU member state then have to ratify it under their own constitutional procedures.
That makes the year-end negotiating target the first of several milestones in the timetable Milatović outlined in Dublin. His next target is a signed treaty by summer 2027, which would leave the ratification process ahead of the proposed 2028 entry. Ireland’s Council presidency can help move the negotiations forward, while the final timetable depends on agreement across the bloc.
