On the 2025 Commission report on Montenegro

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the 2025 Commission report on Montenegro

(2025/2253(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Montenegro, of the other part1, which entered into force on 1 May 2010,

– having regard to Montenegro’s application for membership of the European Union of 15 December 2008,

– having regard to the Commission opinion of 9 November 2010 on Montenegro’s application for membership of the European Union (COM(2010)0670), the European Council’s decision of 17 December 2010 to grant Montenegro candidate status and the European Council’s decision of 29 June 2012 to open EU accession negotiations with Montenegro,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1529 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 September 2021 establishing the Instrument for Pre-Accession assistance (IPA III)2,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans3,

– having regard to the Presidency conclusions of the Thessaloniki European Council meeting of 19 and 20 June 2003,

– having regard to the Western Balkans Leaders’ meeting of 1 July 2025 in Skopje, North Macedonia, on the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans,

– having regard to the declaration of the EU-Western Balkans Summit of 17 December 2025,

– having regard to the Presidency conclusions on enlargement of 16 December 2025,

– having regard to the Berlin Process, launched on 28 August 2014,

– having regard to the Chair’s conclusions of the 2025 Summit on the Berlin Process, held on 22 October 2025,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 6 October 2020 entitled ‘An Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2020)0641),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 8 November 2023 entitled ‘New growth plan for the Western Balkans’ (COM(2023)0691),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 20 March 2024 on pre-enlargement reforms and policy reviews (COM(2024)0146),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 8 July 2025 entitled ‘2025 Rule of Law Report – The rule of law situation in the European Union’ (COM(2025)0900), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document entitled ‘2025 Rule of Law Report – Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Montenegro’ (SWD(2025)0929),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 4 November 2025 entitled ‘2025 Communication on EU enlargement policy’ (COM(2025)0690), and to the accompanying Commission staff working document entitled ‘Montenegro 2025 Report’ (SWD(2025)0754),

– having regard to the Commission’s overview and country assessment of 2 June 2025 of the economic reform programme of Montenegro, and to the joint conclusions of the Economic and Financial Dialogue with Regional Partners of 13 May 2025,

– having regard to the outcomes of the EU-Montenegro Intergovernmental Accession Conferences of 22 June 2021, 13 December 2021, 29 January 2024, 26 June 2024, 16 December 2024, 27 June 2025, 16 December 2025 and 26 January 2026,

– having regard to outcome of the 11th EU-Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Council on 14 July 2022,

– having regard to the declaration and recommendations adopted at the 23rd and 24th meetings of the EU-Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee, held on 2 and 3 April 2025 and on 18 and 19 September 2025 respectively,

– having regard to Montenegro’s accession to NATO on 5 June 2017,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Montenegro,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (A10-0000/2026),

A. whereas enlargement is a key EU foreign policy tool and a strategic investment in peace, security and prosperity;

B. whereas each candidate country is judged on its own merits in fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria;

C. whereas Montenegro is the candidate country that has made the most progress towards EU accession;

D. whereas the EU is Montenegro’s most trusted partner and is trusted by 69 % of the country’s citizens;

Commitment to EU accession

1. Welcomes Montenegro’s steady progress on EU-related reforms, underpinned by broad political engagement and ambition to complete negotiations by the end of 2026; welcomes the provisional closure of 6 more negotiating chapters in 2025 and 1 in 2026, bringing the total to 13; reiterates its full support for the country’s future in the EU;

2. Encourages all political actors to stay focused and maintain the momentum towards successfully concluding the accession negotiations; underlines the need for political stability and constructive cross-party cooperation in this regard; recalls that genuine progress depends on the effective implementation of the reforms that have been adopted and on enduring results in the area of the rule of law; encourages Montenegro to further advance its implementation of the closing benchmarks, particularly for Chapters 23 and 24;

3. Welcomes Montenegro’s steadfast full alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy, including EU restrictive measures; welcomes the EU-Montenegro Security and Defence Dialogue;

4. Remains gravely concerned by malign foreign interference, destabilising activities, hybrid threats and disinformation campaigns by third-country actors in Montenegro; calls for stronger measures to counter these and to enhance societal resilience; calls for the EU and Montenegro to continue pursuing targeted strategic communication on the benefits of enlargement and EU membership;

5. Welcomes the Montenegrin Parliament’s active engagement in the EU-Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee;

Democracy and the rule of law

6. Highlights the importance of the Montenegrin Parliament in the accession process and encourages constructive dialogue across the political spectrum; stresses that close cooperation between the Government and Parliament of Montenegro is crucial for the timely and effective implementation of reforms;

7. Welcomes the amendments made to Montenegro’s electoral law, particularly those concerning the oversight of campaign finance and media, electoral integrity, gender quotas on electoral lists and a single local election day; urges Montenegro to fully align with EU standards and to fully implement all recommendations issued by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Group of States against Corruption, particularly on political party expenditure and on preventing the abuse of state resources;

8. Calls for judicial appointments to be made more quickly, using merit-based and transparent procedures, including appointments to the Constitutional Court and the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils;

9. Urges Montenegro to further align its legal framework with the EU acquis and European standards on judicial independence, accountability, impartiality, integrity and professionalism, and to implement outstanding recommendations; calls for greater efficiency in the justice system, including the reduction of backlogs, particularly on corruption and organised crime cases;

10. Urges Montenegro to step up the proactive investigation and prosecution of high-level corruption and to strengthen the capacity and performance of judicial and anti-corruption bodies; calls for further alignment with the EU acquis and EU standards in the fight against corruption and urges Montenegro to address the outstanding recommendations in this area;

11. Calls for comprehensive integrity policies to safeguard law-enforcement agencies and the judiciary from corruption and organised crime; urges Montenegro to increase the efficiency of prosecutions and judicial proceedings for serious and organised crime, particularly money laundering cases;

12. Calls on Montenegro to fully align its visa policy with that of the EU, especially as regards countries posing security risks; recalls that this is a closing benchmark requirement under Chapter 24;

13. Underlines the importance of a transparent and accountable public administration, stronger administrative capacity, and a professional, merit-based civil service;

Fundamental freedoms and human rights

14. Regrets the fact that vulnerable groups, including Roma and Egyptians, persons with disabilities and LGBTIQ+ persons, still experience discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in Montenegro; reiterates its call on the Montenegrin Parliament to adopt a new anti-discrimination law aligned with the EU acquis and European standards;

15. Acknowledges the multi-ethnic character of Montenegrin society; notes the need for sensitive and inclusive handling of identity-related discussions with a view to preventing polarisation and building broad consensus on issues of common interest, such as Montenegro’s European path;

16. Strongly condemns all hate speech and hate crimes; welcomes the increase in the number of prosecutions for racism and hate speech; encourages Montenegro to step up its institutional response to hate speech and fully align with the EU acquis;

17. Stresses the need to address discrimination against women; regrets the widespread nature of gender-based violence and victim-blaming attitudes; urges Montenegro to adequately fund, resource, coordinate and enforce its gender equality framework;

18. Notes Montenegro’s zero-tolerance policy towards violence against journalists and condemns instances of strong verbal attacks on media and civil society representatives by public officials and political parties; calls for the swift and effective enforcement of the law and for effective judicial protection, prioritising conducting investigations and following up on unresolved cases;

19. Underlines the key role of free and pluralistic media; welcomes the recent appointment of members to the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services and stresses that the Agency must be able to operate independently, free from political influence;

20. Calls for the meaningful involvement of civil society in policymaking, including by resuming, after a long hiatus, the work the Council for Cooperation between the Government and Non-governmental Organisations;

Reconciliation and good neighbourly relations

21. Underlines the key role of good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation in the enlargement process; calls for constructive solutions to outstanding bilateral issues, with citizens’ interests as the priority;

22. Commends Montenegro for its consistent progress in the domestic handling of war crime cases; encourages it to continue taking a proactive approach to ensuring access to justice and reparations for victims; welcomes regional cooperation on these issues, including on missing persons;

Socio-economic reforms

23. Welcomes Montenegro’s engagement in the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans; commends its progress in implementing its reform agenda, with EUR 18 million disbursed, and encourages further implementation;

24. Continues to encourage Montenegro to make full and effective use of all EU funding granted to it, including by improving administrative capacity, speeding up programming and contracting, and improving coordination; highlights the importance of the broad involvement of stakeholders, including local authorities and civil society; recalls the conditionality of EU financial support;

25. Welcomes Montenegro’s operational participation in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA);

26. Notes Montenegro’s economic growth and urges continued fiscal discipline, structural reforms, improved governance, and measures to boost competitiveness, private sector growth and foreign investment;

27. Calls on Montenegro to boost the digitalisation of public services and enhance business-linked vocational training;

28. Urges Montenegro to intensify its fight against corruption in public procurement by strengthening the legal framework and improving the detection of irregularities, and calls on it to ensure that all intergovernmental agreements fully comply with EU rules and principles;

Energy, environment and connectivity

29. Urges Montenegro to step up its efforts towards a sustainable and green transition and to finally adopt and implement its national energy and climate plan; calls for full alignment with the Electricity Integration Package, and for stronger energy efficiency measures;

30. Calls on Montenegro to increase its efforts to meet Chapter 27 closing benchmarks, focusing on air quality, water, nature protection, waste management and climate change, and to adopt air quality and nature protection strategies and action plans, and local waste management plans; welcomes the fact that Montenegro has joined the EU LIFE programme;

31. Calls on Montenegro to boost its administrative capacity and improve its decision-making on infrastructure projects; invites Montenegro to shift its transport policy towards sustainable and smart mobility;

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32. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the President, Government and Parliament of Montenegro.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Montenegro continues to be recognised as the frontrunner for membership in the European Union and, over the past year, has taken steps that confirm this status.

This report of the European Parliament is based on close observation of day-to-day developments and a rigorous assessment of the progress and activities of relevant stakeholders. As standing rapporteur, I was present in the country whenever possible and sought to assess the situation as accurately and objectively as possible.

Undoubtedly, the closure of five negotiating chapters at the end of last year demonstrates progress, and the closure of Chapter 32 in January 2026 is also good news. The Montenegrin negotiating team has set itself the very ambitious goal of closing all chapters by the end of 2026.

However, Montenegro’s path towards the EU is not only defined by technical negotiations and the implementation of reforms. It is also shaped by day-to-day politics with its various competing interests. A clear example is the construction of a wastewater treatment plant for the capital, which is facing political obstacles, as some prominent politicians are using this project for political confrontation. Yet without a modern wastewater treatment system, the capital cannot function in line with Montenegro’s Constitution, which defines the country as an ecological state, and this is also a condition for closing the relevant negotiating chapter.

The fight against organised crime and corruption, as well as concerns relating to media freedom and civil society, also remain firmly on the agenda.

Most importantly in the entire process, public opinion surveys on support for EU membership continue to show strong backing from citizens. Most of the political spectrum is aware of this reality and acts accordingly. Most political actors have internalised the accession process as the most important state-building undertaking and a decisive turning point for the country.

Montenegro is facing an exceptionally demanding year – time is short and there is much work to be done. Therefore, this report should serve both as recognition of the progress achieved so far and as encouragement for the period ahead. Above all, it should be understood as a call to all stakeholders to exercise wisdom and responsibility, to ensure that minor disputes do not overshadow – or derail – the broader strategic objectives.

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not include in his report input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register1, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.