Accession negotiations between Montenegro and the European Union



European Union Montenegro

Montenegro has been an official candidate for accession to the European Union (EU)since December 17, 2010.

Relations between Montenegro and the European Union

The Council of the European Union has to forward the Montenegrin application for membership to the 23 April 2009 European Commission decision. He has thus initiated the formal accession procedure in accordance with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). The European Commission is currently preparing its opinion on the Montenegrin application for membership. In July 2009 it sent Montenegro a comprehensive questionnaire to which the government in Podgorica submitted its answers in December 2009. On November 9, 2010, the European Commission granted Montenegro candidate status. This was officially awarded by the European Council at the EU summit on December 17, 2010 . On June 26, 2012, the European Ministers of the EU member states recommended starting accession negotiations. This decision was officially confirmed at the summit meeting of heads of state and government on June 29, 2012.

State of reform

The European Commission monitors the reform progress of Montenegro on its way into the European Union in its enlargement strategy and the progress reports, which appear every autumn. The Council of the European Union emphasized in its conclusions of 7./8. December 2009 to Montenegro:

“The Council commends the progress made in many areas, particularly in the swift implementation of the Interim Agreement. The parliamentary elections met almost all international standards, although there were some shortcomings and the recommendations of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights must be followed. Montenegro will have to make greater efforts to consolidate the rule of law, including the independence of the judiciary, and to show sustained results in the fight against organized crime and corruption. Strengthening the administrative capacity to effectively enforce the law remains an important task for Montenegro. Increased efforts are needed to ensure freedom of expression and, in particular, freedom of the media.

The Council recalls that in April 2009 it asked the Commission to present its opinion on Montenegro's application for membership of the European Union. The application for membership will be assessed on the basis of the principles enshrined in the Treaty, the criteria set by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993 and the conclusions of the December 2006 European Council on the renewed consensus on enlargement. The Council agrees to come back to this point when the Commission has received its opinion. "

Stabilization and Association Process

The Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and Montenegro was signed on October 15, 2007. An interim agreement, which mainly contains parts of trade policy, entered into force on January 1, 2008. The SAA itself had to be ratified by all EU member states and by Montenegro in parliamentary procedures. It came into force on May 1, 2010.

Financial EU support for the reform process in Montenegro

The EU provides financial support to Montenegro mainly through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), which ran until 2013. From 2007 to 2010, Montenegro received 113.46 million euros from IPA funds. Between 1998 and 2006, the country had already received 277.2 million euros from the EU program Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development, and Stabilization ( CARDS ).

Overview of the progress of the negotiations

The screening of the negotiation chapters began in the week of March 26th to 30th, 2012 . On December 18, 2012, Chapter 25 opened the first chapter. The following table shows further data.

chapter	Screening	opened	completed
1. Free movement of goods	March 6, 2013	20th June 2017	-
2. Free movement of workers	June 7, 2013	December 11, 2017	-
3. Freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services	October 24, 2012	December 11, 2017	-
4. Free movement of capital	February 21, 2013	June 24, 2014	-
5. Public procurement law	July 27, 2012	18th December 2013	-
6. Company law	November 22, 2012	18th December 2013	-
7. Protection of Intellectual Property Rights	October 11, 2012	April 1, 2014	-
8. Competition Law	5th October 2012	June 30, 2020	-
9. Financial Services	11th of June 2013	June 22, 2015	-
10. Information society and media	January 22, 2013	April 1, 2014	-
11. Agriculture and Rural Development	November 9, 2012	December 13, 2016	-
12. Food safety , veterinary policy and phytosanitary	October 15, 2012	June 30, 2016	-
13. Fisheries	6th June 2013	June 30, 2016	-
14. Transport policy	May 30, 2013	December 21, 2015	-
15. Energy	April 11, 2013	December 21, 2015	-
16. Tax Policy	April 30, 2013	March 30, 2015	-
17. Economic and monetary policy	February 25, 2013	June 26, 2018	-
18. Statistics	June 25, 2013	December 16, 2014	-
19. Social policy and employment	13th March 2013	December 13, 2016	-
20. Enterprise and industrial policy	October 26, 2012	18th December 2013	-
21. Trans-European transport network	May 30, 2013	June 22, 2015	-
22. Regional policy and coordination of structural policy instruments	May 18, 2012	20th June 2017	-
23. Justice and fundamental rights	May 31, 2012	18th December 2013	-
24. Justice, Freedom and Security	May 25, 2012	18th December 2013	-
25. Science and Research	September 25, 2012	December 18, 2012	December 18, 2012
26. Education and culture	September 26, 2012	April 15, 2013	April 15, 2013
27. Environment	March 22, 2012	December 10, 2018	-
28. Consumer and health protection	April 16, 2013	December 16, 2014	-
29. Customs Union	June 21th 2013	December 16, 2014	-
30. External relations	June 12th, 2013	March 30, 2015	20th June 2017
31. Foreign , security and defense policy	June 27, 2013	June 24, 2014	-
32. Financial control	19th June 2013	June 24, 2014	-
33. Financial and budgetary provisions	June 26, 2013	December 16, 2014	-
34. Institutions	not applicable
35. Other questions	not applicable
completed	33	33	3
pending	0	0	30th

As of June 28, 2020

Negotiation progress:

Chapter opened

Chapter completed

Euro

Montenegro does not belong to the European Monetary Union . Nevertheless, the euro is legal tender in the country.

Montenegro had unilaterally withdrawn the Yugoslav dinar since November 2000 . A year earlier, with the currency turmoil caused by the Kosovo war , the D-Mark had been introduced as a parallel currency, which was replaced by the euro in 2002.

Visa liberalization

On January 1, 2008, visa facilitation and readmission agreements with the EU came into force in all states of the Western Balkans (except Kosovo ) . Then the European Commission, together with the participating states, submitted timetables for visa exemption. After Montenegro, Serbia and North Macedonia had fully met the conditions of the timetables, the EU has been granting visa exemption for these countries since December 19, 2009. It is valid for tourist trips in all Schengen countries for up to 90 days. The prerequisite is that travelers have a biometric passport and do not take up gainful employment.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Montenegro officially receives EU candidate status

↑ Archive link ( Memento from July 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

↑ http://de.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idDEBEE6A80O320101109

↑ afp.com: Extension: Montenegro takes a step towards the European Union. In: welt.de . June 29, 2012, accessed October 7, 2018 .

↑ Archive link ( Memento of March 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive )

↑ http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2009/mn_rapport_2009_en.pdf

↑ https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/pdf/montenegro/key_documents/interim_agreementlexuriserv_en.pdf

↑ Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro: EU Assistance to Montenegro , accessed on November 21, 2011.

↑ http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/the-eu-started-screening-montenegro

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/fule/headlines/news/2013/12/20131218_en.htm

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/fule/headlines/news/2014/06/20140624_2_en.htm

↑ https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-montenegro-report.pdf

↑ Archive link ( Memento from March 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive )

↑ mip.gov.me ( Memento from December 20, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )

↑ Archive link ( Memento from October 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive )