According to *Serbian Economist*, no fewer than five EU countries — the Netherlands, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia — have called for a pause before further closing negotiation chapters with Montenegro, reports the Podgorica-based newspaper *Dan*, citing diplomatic sources in Brussels.
The initiative came from the Netherlands, which is calling for further analysis of Montenegro’s compliance with European criteria and a more consistent application of established standards. Croatia and the three Baltic states later joined this position.
This has already affected the negotiation timetable. The EU–Montenegro intergovernmental conference scheduled for September, at which Podgorica had hoped to close new chapters, will not take place.
That said, Brussels’ official line is more conciliatory. An EU spokesperson stated that several states have not yet completed their internal approval procedures, as many chapters in the negotiations are technically complex.
“There is a desire to make progress. It is more a question of timing than anything else,” said the EU spokesperson.
The most optimistic scenario at present is that the next intergovernmental conference will take place in mid-October in Luxembourg.
Montenegro remains the candidate country that has made the most progress in the EU accession process. The country has opened all 33 negotiation chapters, 18 of which have already been provisionally closed. The ‘last conference’ took place on 14 July, when chapters 8 (‘Competition Policy’) and 29 (‘Customs Union’) were closed.
Croatia’s position remains a separate issue. ‘Transport’, in particular, due to issues relating to cabotage and aviation charts. Croatia also continues to block Chapter 31, ‘Foreign Policy, Security and Defence’, due to unresolved bilateral issues with Montenegro.
The Council of the EU officially confirms that Montenegro’s progress is continuing and that work on new negotiating positions is ongoing.