European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said Montenegro is “on good track” to close at least five additional chapters in its European Union accession negotiations this year, describing the country as a frontrunner among Western Balkan candidates. The comments were made at the opening of the EU–Montenegro Investment Conference in Tivat on 14–15 October.
Standing alongside prime minister Milojko Spajić, von der Leyen endorsed Podgorica’s stated objective to become the EU’s “28th by 2028”, while cautioning that momentum must be maintained through political unity. “You are on good track to close another five this year. I know you are determined to close all chapters next year and to become, as you put it, ‘the 28th by 2028’… With unity, you can move mountains,” she said.
Accession negotiations with Montenegro formally opened on 29 June 2012. To date, 33 chapters have been opened and seven provisionally closed under the conference’s negotiating principles. The chapter count reflects the structure of Montenegro’s negotiating framework; chapter closure remains provisional until the entire accession package is agreed.
Von der Leyen’s visit to Tivat forms part of a wider Western Balkans tour focused on investment delivery and the EU’s growth plan for the region. In parallel meetings in Tirana this week, the Commission highlighted private-sector transactions under discussion that could unlock several billion euro in additional investment across strategic sectors including clean energy, industrial value chains and artificial intelligence. Disbursements under the plan are tied to reform progress and regulatory alignment with the single market.
Montenegro’s negotiating track has in recent months been marked by incremental movement on the acquis, including the provisional closure of the public procurement chapter in June. Officials in Podgorica have set out an internal timetable to complete several market-related files by year-end, aligning with the Commission president’s statement in Tivat. According to the Council, the seven provisionally closed chapters to date include Public Procurement, Intellectual Property Law, and External Relations.
The Commission president also commended Montenegro’s alignment with EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, including its decision in June to join the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine). The Montenegrin parliament approved the deployment of a non-combat contingent to the training mission, a step Brussels has framed as consistent with the EU’s broader support for Ukraine’s self-defence.
In Tivat, von der Leyen reiterated that the pace of accession depends on reforms in the fundamentals cluster—rule of law, judiciary, and public administration—while encouraging cross-party consensus to avoid slippage. Her remarks echoed the Commission’s long-standing stance that interim benchmarks in Chapters 23 and 24 underpin the broader closing process for sectoral chapters. While Montenegro has opened all chapters, sustained delivery in these areas remains determinative for the calendar to 2028.
The government in Podgorica has publicly tied its sequencing to the “28 by 28” objective, placing emphasis on market freedoms, services, company law and agriculture-related files in the near term. The authorities have signalled that several dossiers—among them Right of Establishment and Freedom to Provide Services, Free Movement of Capital, Company Law, Agriculture and Fisheries—are candidates for provisional closure within 2025, subject to fulfilment of closing benchmarks agreed with the EU. The Council has cautioned that any provisional agreements are without prejudice to the final, horizontal settlement of all chapters at the end of talks.
For Brussels, Montenegro’s trajectory is being watched as a test of the EU’s revised enlargement approach in the Western Balkans, where the Commission is seeking to link gradual market integration and investment inflows to concrete reforms. The “growth plan” presented for the region is intended to run in parallel with chapter-by-chapter progress, offering interim economic gains while accession talks proceed. In this context, the Commission’s signalling in Tivat—that five more chapter closures are feasible this year—places a clear marker for Podgorica’s administrative capacity and political cohesion over the coming months.
With the investment conference continuing through 15 October, Montenegrin officials are expected to meet EU counterparts and investors to review delivery against benchmarks and financing pipelines. Formal decisions on chapter closure will be taken at subsequent accession conferences once technical conditions are verified and member states agree. Until then, the Commission’s message in Tivat sets an operational target for 2025 and reiterates the broader objective: sustained reforms, regulatory alignment, and unity of purpose to support a potential membership decision in the second half of the decade.
