Montenegro Seeks EU Membership Over Security Concerns — Politico
Montenegro seeks to join the European Union primarily for security reasons, rather than solely for economic or fiscal reasons.
The country’s prime minister made this statement, emphasizing the importance of European integration for the stability and security of the state.
Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milojko Spajić told Politico:
“Joining the EU… used to be about… fiscal support for your infrastructure. But in reality, that’s no longer the case. The key reason for us wanting to join the EU is, obviously, the shared values we all believe in, and secondly, it’s the single market—half a billion people versus half a million Montenegrins. And third, it is a peace project, perhaps even the last peace project on Earth today, which is precisely where the value of the European Union lies,” Spajić noted.
Montenegro is the candidate country that has made the most progress in accession negotiations, having closed 14 of the 33 negotiation chapters, which are the criteria required for EU membership.
According to Spajic, his country, which has set itself the ambitious goal of joining the EU by 2028, “has achieved 80–90% of its goal regarding the closure of the remaining chapters and is very confident that it will fully close them by the end of 2026.”
“Some of the things we are doing now, the reforms we are implementing, are absolutely unprecedented,” he emphasized.
Spajic stressed that by joining the EU, Montenegro “will give hope to the Western Balkans” and “preserve enlargement as a very, very powerful tool of the European Union.”
Ukrainemay receive a clear roadmap for EU accession in May.
Additionally, Ukraine has received invitations from Asian countries, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is announcing new visits and agreements.
Ukraine is ready to assist with maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.
