The European Union has not wrapped up membership talks with any country since 2011. According to the European Commission, that drought could end within weeks. In its annual enlargement report, published on Wednesday, Brussels said negotiations with Montenegro could realistically be completed by the end of 2026, opening the way to an accession treaty that might be signed as early as June 2027.
The last country to reach that stage was Croatia, which went on to join in 2013. Montenegro, a small Adriatic state of roughly 630,000 people, has set itself the goal of entering the bloc in 2028 as its 28th member. Serbian broadcaster B92 reports that twelve negotiating chapters remain open, with half of them due to close in November and the rest in December, leaving the spring of 2027 to finish drafting the treaty.
Plenty of work remains before any signing ceremony. The two sides still have to settle a financial package and the institutional arrangements. The Montenegrin treaty is also set to be the first to carry tougher safeguard clauses, temporary tools that would let the EU respond quickly if promised reforms start to slip after accession. Until then, the Commission plans a monitoring mechanism, and this year’s progress report may be the last one it writes on the country.
Membership itself would still require ratification by all 27 governments and the consent of the European Parliament. The Commission urged Podgorica to stay focused and keep its cross-party consensus, and stressed that the timeline is only indicative.
Roadmaps were also presented for Albania, Moldova and Ukraine. Albania hopes to conclude talks by the end of 2027, but B92 notes it still has 31 chapters to close, and the Commission called for more dialogue in a parliament facing the country’s biggest protests since its transition to democracy.
