European Commission proposes provisional closure of seven negotiating chapters with Montenegro

The European Commission has proposed the provisional closure of seven chapters in Montenegro’s European Union accession negotiations, as Vijesti reports. They are Chapter 1 – Free movement of goods, Chapter 12 – Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, Chapter 15 – Energy, Chapter 17 – Economic and monetary policy, Chapter 18 – Statistics and Chapter 19 – Social policy and employment.

The proposal came to light from a document published on Friday on the website of the Dutch parliament, to which it had been submitted by the Netherlands’ Foreign Minister, Tom Berendsen. According to the same document, the Dutch parliament had earlier also been informed of the proposal for the provisional closure of Chapter 14 – Transport policy.

The document, as Vijesti reports, says that the Dutch government assesses the overall situation in Montenegro, including the rule of law, in a way that justifies a constructively critical approach to the Commission’s proposals. The Hague intends to support the provisional closure of Chapters 12, 17, 18 and 19, insisting that the Commission continue strict monitoring even after their closure. For Chapters 1 and 15, consideration in the Council has recently begun and The Hague intends to support them, if answers are provided on several open issues.

According to Vijesti’s interlocutor, the Dutch parliament can now put questions — a necessary step before its government officially communicates to the EU Council the green light for the closure of the chapters. The meeting of the EU General Affairs Council is held on 13 October, and an intergovernmental conference could be organised on its margins to formally mark the step, if agreement of all member states is reached.

In the same document, the Commission also proposes the provisional closure of Chapter 20 – Enterprise and industrial policy in the negotiations with Albania, after Tirana met the criteria, particularly for the industrial strategy and policies towards small and medium-sized enterprises, as quoted by Vijesti.