Unravelling Montenegro’s Frontrunner Status in the EU Accession Process
Unravelling Montenegro’s Frontrunner Status in the EU Accession Process

Author(s): Milena Milošević, Dina Bajramspahić, Ivana Bogojević
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, EU-Approach / EU-Accession / EU-Development
Published by: Institut alternativa
Keywords: EU accession; benchmarking system; rule of law; judiciary reform; public administration reform; anti-corruption; Montenegro
Summary/Abstract: Montenegro opened accession negotiations with the EU in June 2012, being the first country to undergo the new approach, which frontloads rule of law criteria. The new approach places emphasis on Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security). The two chapters are opened early in the process, with the aim of allowing the country to adjust to complex reforms, which alongside technical aspects, capacity building and legislative alignment, require a track record of fighting organized crime and high level corruption. Between June 2012 and January 2018, Montenegro opened 30 chapters and provisionally closed 3 chapters. In addition, following the “State of the Union” address by Commissioner Juncker, the newly announced Enlargement Strategy for the region outlined a clear perspective for the first time, with a potential date for Montenegro’s accession to the EU of 2025.1 Government officials often use the opening of negotiation chapters as an indicator of success. Nonetheless, the closure of most chapters is still pending. This depends, at least officially, on meeting selected interim benchmarks, which should lead to the closing benchmarks. The aim of this analysis is precisely to assess the selected interim benchmarks within Chapters 23 and 24. By benchmarks we imply concrete requirements which key EU enlargement documents specifically formulate for the Montenegrin authorities, whose conditions for implementation signify further progress along the country’s path to EU accession.

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