Montenegro has reached a pivotal milestone in its European Union membership drive, with Interior Minister Danilo Šaranović declaring that the closure of Chapter 24, Justice, Freedom and Security, confirms the country has built institutions capable of protecting citizens and upholding the rule of law. Following meetings in Brussels with European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and Commissioner for Home Affairs Magnus Bruner, Šaranović emphasized that the achievement is “not an administrative goal or the formal completion of a negotiation process” but proof that Montenegro can “equally assume responsibility for the security of the European space.” The closure of this chapter, one of the most demanding in the entire accession process, comes as Brussels has already begun drafting the legal text of Montenegro’s Accession Treaty, a step that signals the final phase of a journey that began when the country applied for EU membership in 2008.
Chapter 24 has long been the most sensitive hurdle in Montenegro’s negotiations. Opened in December 2013 under the EU’s “fundamentals first” approach, it required Montenegro to meet 38 interim benchmarks covering migration, asylum, visa policy, Schengen related matters, judicial cooperation, police cooperation, organized crime, counter terrorism, and drug cooperation. The government adopted an Action Plan for fulfilling final benchmarks in April 2025, with a deadline of Q3 2026, aligning with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić’s ambitious goal of closing all 33 chapters by year’s end and becoming the EU’s 28th member by 2028. Šaranović briefed the commissioners on parallel efforts to harmonize with the EU acquis, improve the security sector legislative framework, strengthen migration management, modernize the visa system, and intensify the fight against organized crime. The latest European Commission non paper was assessed as bringing “an important and objective signal” about progress in rule of law and internal security.
The Brussels meetings carried symbolic weight beyond the technical benchmarks. Commissioner Kos described Montenegro as “the most advanced candidate country” and confirmed that an Ad Hoc Working Party is already drafting the Accession Treaty, a process that began in May 2026 after EU ambassadors endorsed its establishment in April. “We are already seeing that place taking shape,” Kos said, referring to Montenegro’s seat at the EU table. Commissioner Bruner emphasized that “citizens of Montenegro can count on the full support of the European Union.” The treaty drafting represents the first such exercise since Croatia’s accession in 2013 and is expected to include enhanced safeguard mechanisms to prevent democratic backsliding, a lesson drawn from previous enlargements. As of June 2026, Montenegro has provisionally closed 16 of 33 chapters, with work ongoing on Chapters 8 (Competition Policy), 14 (Transport Policy), and 29 (Customs Union). For Šaranović and the Spajić government, the closure of Chapter 24 is both a validation of institutional maturity and a reminder that the hardest yards may still lie ahead, with the fundamentals cluster traditionally the last to be sealed.
