Marta Kos: Montenegro Could Sign EU Treaty by Summer 2027
The EU enlargement commissioner tells Radio of Montenegro the deadline is realistic, but Croatia's demands must be settled. Milan Knezevic calls it a capitulation.
European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said on October 21 that signing an accession treaty with Montenegro by summer 2027 is realistic, provided Podgorica completes its reforms and settles the open issues with Croatia. The message reaches beyond Montenegro: Kos announced that the upcoming summit will also discuss how Montenegrin membership could motivate the other countries of the region to follow the same path.
What did the commissioner say about the accession treaty deadline?
In an interview with Radio of Montenegro, Kos said Brussels backs the goal of Montenegro becoming the EU’s 28th member in 2028. Asked how realistic it is to sign the treaty by summer 2027, she answered:
“It is realistic, and it makes me glad. It will be the first time since 2013, when Croatia entered the EU as the last country, that you are on the way to signing this treaty. The conditions are, as always, that all reforms are carried through to the end. You are well on your way to resolving the open issues with Croatia in the spirit of good neighborly relations.”
Montenegro has so far opened all 33 negotiating chapters and provisionally closed 21. The last three, economic and monetary policy, statistics, and social policy and employment, were closed on October 12.
Kos singled out the decision of Montenegro’s Parliament, backed by part of the opposition, to adopt a constitutional amendment on integrity checks for government ministers, voted on Monday. She called it a step toward closing chapter 23 and then toward concluding the negotiations. She told lawmakers they know why it matters now to, in her words, “use the language of sport, be in the final of one of the most important matches Montenegro will ever play in its history.”
Why does Croatia still have a say?
Kos stresses that Croatia’s demands are not a formal part of the negotiating process, but that every next step requires the consent of all 27 member states:
“At that level you have done almost everything, we only need a little more. But if we want to go further in this process in Brussels, we need the green light of all 27 members. Croatia has its interests and Croatia talks about them openly. I am glad that in recent days Montenegro has made steps and that a dialogue between Croatia and Montenegro exists. I think you are on a good path to resolving these bilateral issues as well. These bilateral issues are not part of the negotiating process, but because of everything I have explained, they must be resolved.”
Zagreb has put eight demands to Podgorica, and two have been met. On October 20 the Montenegrin government decided that the swimming pool in Kotor, named since 2021 after water polo player Zoran Dzimi Gopcevic, will now be called “City Pool - Petar II Petrovic Njegos”. Zagreb objected to the old name, claiming Gopcevic had been a guard at Morinj, where Croatian civilians and prisoners of war were held in the early 1990s. The government also retroactively approved a memorial plaque installed in October 2022 at the entrance of the former military facility in Morinj, which stays in the same place with the same inscription. Zagreb welcomed both decisions as a step in the right direction, adding that it expects the remaining issues to be resolved.
Six demands remain open:
- compensation for former Morinj detainees
- the search for 14 missing Croatian citizens
- prosecution of war crimes
- property rights of Croatian families in Montenegro
- delimitation at sea
- the question of the training ship “Jadran”
What did Kos say about Mandic and Mount Bobotov Kuk?
Asked about Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandic, whose dismissal did not win parliamentary support, and about the opposition’s criticism of his condolences to the family of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic, Kos said: “Only Parliament can decide on its leadership, no one else. In the European Union there is truly no room for glorifying war criminals.” She added that reconciliation and respect for victims are something European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also emphasized, as she put it.
She ended the conversation with the previously announced climb of Bobotov Kuk. “Bobotov Kuk is a symbol for me. It is not easy to reach the top, but if everything goes well, for me it symbolizes Montenegro’s road to the EU,” she said.
What comes next at the summit in Budva?
Kos said Montenegro is at the center of European leaders’ attention. She recalled that French President Emmanuel Macron visited Montenegro for the first time at the June summit in Tivat, and that, as she put it, “today the German chancellor is coming.” The Berlin Process summit in Budva, according to the German government’s announcement, takes place on Thursday, October 22, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to attend.
How did Milan Knezevic respond?
Democratic People’s Party leader Milan Knezevic reacted to the Podgorica government’s decisions in an address posted on Instagram. “Unfortunately, the Montenegro I left a few days ago has capitulated to Croatia today,” he said. He accused the government of Milojko Spajic of agreeing, as he claims, to pay 17 million euros in war reparations for “nonexistent victims.”
In the available sources, that figure comes only from Knezevic’s address. N1 lists compensation for former Morinj detainees among the Croatian demands not yet met, which means it is still under negotiation.
