In the first half of 2024, Montenegro almost entirely put its social and political focus on European integration. We haven’t missed the opportunity we were given at the beginning of the term of office of this Government, and we put together all the efforts on the internal and external level to deliver results. We used the intensified communication with the heads of European institutions to convey messages of firm determination that in the agreed time frame we would meet the set benchmarks.
The greatest challenge we had on the integration path up to that point was meeting the interim benchmarks for the Chapters 23 and 24 (IBAR), not only because undertaking the necessary steps for meeting those benchmarks was challenging, but also because all other processes were put on hold until that obstacle was overcome. That is precisely why, since the beginning of the term of office of this Government, we saw only diligence and commitment of the part of the Government and the Parliament aimed at meeting all the obligations needed for the positive IBAR in record time. Development of legislation, consultations with the European and the Venice Commissions, constructive public debates, efficient response of the Parliament and unanimity in voting were the features of the process that in only six months put Montenegro in the core of the EU enlargement policy and restored our image of a leader in European integration. The recently received positive IBAR was a turning point in our European aspirations and a clear signal of the European Union that hard work would be recognized if we were up to the expectations of the European agenda.
The commitment that led us to this success will not dwindle in the period ahead in which we will have to include the broadest range of stakeholders in the society to work together in the final stage of Europeanization of Montenegrin society. We already started the last round, and the Ministry of European Affairs has started the finalization of the dynamic plan for closing the remaining chapters. In this way, we will have firm grounds to hope we can deliver everything required in this process in 2026. The first important goal that we aspire to, after IBAR, is closing the largest number of chapters ever, which we will do by the end of the year in the next intergovernmental conference within the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. That will mark the end of this year as the most successful for Montenegro’s European path so far. It will also lay solid foundations for our full-fledged membership in four years at latest.
To be able, as a society, to go successfully through the process of consolidation into a functional democracy worthy of being described as European, we must ensure that our citizens understand short-term and long-term benefits of alignment with the European acquis, but also feel the benefits of membership already during the negotiation process. It is clear that our European partners have the same opinion, since they have been showing their affirmative attitude towards the integration of the Southeast European countries into the EU through various funds, like Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans. The Growth Plan that facilitates convergence with the EU standard of living, ensured 383 million euros for Montenegro to finance initiatives from the Reform Agenda whose potential for transformation of the society, particularly in terms of human capital development, is precious. In addition to this, 100 million euros grant intended for the construction of the second section of the Princess Ksenija highway, will serve as an encouragement for equal economic development and generate a new investment momentum. The good position that we have earned by our efforts in the perception of European counterparts is additionally confirmed by the recently received six grants for the environment protection and energy sector of the total value of 75 million euros that EU approved for Montenegro in the Western Balkan Investment Framework (WBIF).
We have now reinforced our relations with our European partners, restored our role of a forerunner in the enlargement process, achieved an enviable degree of unity when it comes to the work on European agenda and showed that we have a clear vision and orientation that we do not depart from. We can therefore be optimistic that, if European integration depends on the objective merits, Montenegro will certainly be the next member of the European Union by 2028.
By Maida Gorčević, Minister of European Affairs
