Kos: Accession Treaty with Montenegro could be signed next summer

The Accession Treaty with Montenegro could be signed next summer, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said.

- As for the timeline for Montenegro, we could complete the negotiations, the technical part, by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. We are already preparing the Accession Treaty, which could then be signed next summer, followed by the ratification process, which may take one to two years, depending on what happens in individual member states. This means that Montenegro could become the EU’s 28th member in 2028 - Commissioner Marta Kos said. She was presenting to members of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee in Strasbourg the European Commission’s new proposals concerning the enlargement strategy and the institutional implications of accession negotiations for the EU.

Kos said that the „new generation of accession treaties“ and new safeguard mechanisms would first be applied to Montenegro, as the most advanced candidate country. However, she added that if the country consistently follows all the rules and values on which the EU is founded, these mechanisms would have no practical impact.

- If they breach those rules, these safeguards will have serious consequences. There is a new safeguard that is voluntary, namely a measure under which new member states would voluntarily commit not to use their veto in the enlargement process when it comes to bilateral disputes, through a separate declaration, meaning that this would not be part of the Accession Treaty. What is important is that everything is legally grounded. These safeguards should be proportionate, temporary, non-discriminatory and based on the equality of all member states - Commissioner Kos stressed, according to Radio Television of Montenegro.

Commissioner Kos reiterated that the new roadmaps that the Commission will present alongside the Annual Enlargement Package on 28 October will apply to Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, which are leading the accession negotiation process.

- The roadmaps set out timelines, key steps and how to reach the finish line. The roadmaps will differ. As you can imagine, Montenegro is at the end of the process. We hope to complete the technical negotiations by the end of the year. The roadmaps will also be an important tool for the European Commission, as well as for the member states, to better monitor their progress along that path - Kos explained.

Kos stressed that the same safeguard measures applied during previous enlargements would also be applied to the new countries, but that these would be „strengthened“ by provisions of the Treaties establishing the EU concerning loyalty and sincere cooperation.

- We will use the existing set of sectoral safeguard measures, but we want to introduce new measures for cases where new member states act contrary to the rule of law, democracy or our values. In cases of serious breaches, we propose a 15-year transitional period so that we can act more quickly, which Article 7 already allows us to do - Commissioner Kos pointed out.

Kos also stressed that monitoring of candidate countries would be strengthened during the pre-accession phase, namely in the period between the signing of the Accession Treaty and its ratification by the member states.