Brussels – Calm, confident and focused on the goal. This is how Maida Gorčević, Montenegro’s Minister of European Affairs, comes across when discussing the most demanding and decisive challenges facing her country 20 years after independence. “Our planning and the lessons learned from the past are going to make these things work easily in the future,” she told The New Union Post.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Annual EU Budget Conference 2026 on 2 July, Gorčević reassured that “we should not worry” when it comes to the financial outlook. This confidence stems from the fact that the institutions in Podgorica are “already working” on the closure of Chapter 33 (Financial and Budgetary Provisions) of the accession negotiations and are “also preparing the plan for the budget” with a view to EU membership in 2028, which is expected to amount to around €75 million per year.
In practical terms, work is already under way on both the strategic documentation and Montenegro’s National and Regional Partnership Plan (NRPP), she explained. The plan will set out the country’s investment priorities and reform agenda under the new budgetary architecture of the EU’s 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), laying the groundwork for the country’s participation in the next long-term EU budget.
Just two days after the European Commission’s proposal of a €3.2 billion financial package for Montenegro’s EU accession, the Minister of European Affairs made it clear that the planning for Montenegro to be part of the next MFF – the only candidate with a clear accession perspective during the 2028–2034 budgetary period – represents “a very huge and very strong political message,” much like the decision to establish the Ad Hoc Working Group for Drafting the Accession Treaty.
The same can be said of the amount of EU funding proposed. “This is three times more than we are receiving through IPA funding now,” Gorčević noted, while stressing that “we are not joining the EU because of the finance, but because of security, stability and values.” Although EU member states could still cut both the overall EU enlargement budget and Montenegro’s financial envelope, she recalled that “it is not how much, it is how you are going to invest it” and that Podgorica now has “a really good experience” in implementing EU funds that bring “very tangible benefits for our citizens.”
It is clear that the issue of the financial package is closely linked to the ongoing accession negotiations. With 17 of the 33 chapters still to be closed, the next key date will be 14 July, when Montenegro will seek to close as many negotiating chapters as possible before the summer break. “At this moment, we have sent the Commission three chapters that we want to close,” Gorčević revealed, referring to Chapter 8 (Competition Policy), Chapter 29 (Customs Union) and Chapter 14 (Transport Policy).
The ball is now in the Council’s court. Yet, according to the Montenegrin minister, “it is not only about the number of chapters that are going to be closed in July.” She welcomed the “very good signal” sent by the Irish Presidency of the Council when it comes to enlargement policy and Montenegro. The “ambitious but realistic” goal remains to close the accession negotiations “by the end of the year.” As Gorčević revealed, “the end of the summer” is the internal deadline for the remaining 17 chapters to be ready to be closed and submitted to the Commission for approval.
The ultimate objective is to become the 28th EU member state by 2028. Doubts have been raised about the prospect of Montenegro becoming a full member on 1 January 2028 – as outlined in the Commission’s financial package – and Gorčević herself called for “realism” when it comes to the timeline. “It will be in 2028, but this does not mean 1 January – there are 12 months, and we hope it will be one somewhere in the middle.” Much will depend not only on the closure of the negotiations and the signing of the Accession Treaty, but especially on its ratification by the 27 national parliaments.
Another potential risk could be the general elections scheduled to take place in Montenegro in the first half of 2027. The Minister of European Affairs is not concerned about political support within Montenegro, whether it comes from the current parliamentary majority or the opposition. “There are different kinds of opinions – this is democracy – but we all want Montenegro to join the European Union and no political party will make it an issue in the election campaign.”
In any case, the intensive work to close all the technical aspects of the accession negotiations by the end of December 2026 can be seen as a potential safeguard in light of Gorčević’s real concern. “Due to the elections, we will have foreign interference and hybrid threats” from third countries “that are not very happy about Montenegro being the success story of EU enlargement.”
The state of EU–Montenegro relations
Montenegro submitted its application for EU membership in 2008. Candidate status was granted in June 2010, and accession negotiations began in 2012.
In June 2024, Podgorica received a positive Interim Benchmark Assessment Report (IBAR), indicating that it has met the interim benchmarks in Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) – a prerequisite for closing chapters deemed ready for provisional closure.
To date, all 33 screened negotiating chapters have been opened, and 16 have been provisionally closed.
On 22 April 2026, the EU ambassadors endorsed the establishment of the Ad Hoc Working Party on Drafting the Accession Treaty, which started working on 13 May. On 30 June, the European Commission proposed a €3.2 billion financial package for Podgorica’s EU accession.
Montenegro is considered the most advanced country in the EU enlargement process, with the aim of closing all chapters by the end of 2026.
