MONTENEGRO ONE STEP AWAY FROM MEMBERSHIP: The European Union has initiated the drafting of the Accession Treaty with Podgorica!

The European Union is launching the drafting of Montenegro’s Accession Treaty, marking an important step toward membership in the Union.

The EU working group responsible for drafting Montenegro’s Accession Treaty is expected to begin its work this Wednesday, which will mark a decisive step toward the country’s membership.

European Commissioner Piotr Serafin confirmed the launch, following the recent approval by EU ambassadors for the establishment of this ad hoc body.

Although the framework of the treaty is expected to follow the Croatian model from 2011, experts anticipate significantly stricter safeguard clauses to ensure long-term compliance with Union standards, EWB reports.

This development signals that Montenegro has officially entered the final legal phase of its journey toward becoming the next EU member state.

At the end of April, representatives of the member states agreed on the establishment of a Working Group that will work on the draft accession treaty with Montenegro.

As they explained at the time, this is a technically complex but politically very significant move that signals that Podgorica has entered the final stage of membership negotiations.

In practice, the formation of a working group for the accession treaty means that the EU assesses that negotiations with Montenegro could be concluded within a reasonable timeframe, provided the pace of reforms is maintained.

This is a phase that comes only when the majority of the negotiating work is completed – Montenegro has already opened all chapters and closed 14 of them, thereby remaining the most advanced candidate in the Western Balkan region.

Unlike earlier steps in the negotiations, which are primarily political and reform-oriented, the drafting of the accession treaty represents a transition into the final, legally-binding phase. This document precisely defines the conditions under which a state joins the EU – from transitional periods for legislative alignment, through financial arrangements, to the issue of representation in the Union’s institutions.