For the first time since 2013, the EU is beginning to draft an enlargement treaty

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos welcomed the establishment of a working group to draft Montenegro’s accession treaty to the European Union. This marks the first time since 2013 that the bloc has begun work on a legal document regarding the accession of a new member state. 

Kos wrote on Facebook about the recognition of Podgorica’s progress and the country’s realistic prospects for EU membership.

Montenegro is currently the frontrunner in the enlargement process, having concluded negotiations on 14 of 35 thematic chapters. Marta Kos called this step a strong signal for continuing reforms and emphasized that the country’s future within the Union is taking shape. The last country to join the EU was Croatia.

Ukraine hopes that the European Union will open all six negotiation clusters regarding the country’s accession this year and also anticipates the possibility of closing at least one of them by the end of the year. 

Ukraine may temporarily forego some of the benefits of EU membership to accelerate the accession process. Taras Kachka noted that such a step would help Ukraine integrate into the EU more quickly.