No Chapter 23 Closure Without Implementing Venice Commission and GRECO Recommendations

Chapter 23 of the EU accession negotiations (judiciary and fundamental rights) cannot be closed without the full implementation of the recommendations of the Venice Commission and GRECO, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption — this was stated unofficially by the Montenegrin government to the RTCG portal. The requirement is tied chiefly to integrity vetting of public office holders and conflict-of-interest risks.

According to the same source, the government has already invited the parliamentary majority and the opposition to a dialogue to concretize solutions around the law on the government. The parliamentary session where the constitutional amendments will be discussed is expected on Wednesday.

GRECO, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body, in its evaluation report addressed 22 recommendations to Montenegro on preventing corruption and strengthening integrity in central government bodies, demanding rules that require integrity vetting before the appointment of ministers and state secretaries, so that potential conflict-of-interest risks are identified and resolved before appointment.

The Venice Commission, in its Opinion No. 1281/2026 of June 4, 2026, recommended that, following the relevant constitutional reform, the steps to be taken in the event of a negative integrity-vetting result be specified as soon as possible at the legislative level.

On September 3, Montenegro’s Parliament adopted the proposal to amend the Constitution removing the immunity of government members for criminal corruption offenses — 66 deputies present voted in favor, with no votes against and no abstentions. Immunity is removed for the prime minister and ministers for offenses such as abuse of official duty, bribery and similar corrupt acts. The adopted vote is the first phase of the three votes required in the parliamentary procedure for the final constitutional amendment.

The EU Delegation to Montenegro said two days earlier that Montenegro had taken an important step with the adoption of the latest constitutional amendments, but that obligations remain in the rule-of-law field: the full functionalization of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the election of the missing members of the Judicial Council, and the adoption of the second package of constitutional amendments on the immunity of executive office holders and integrity vetting of the prime minister-designate and future government members. Deputy Prime Minister Momo Koprivica, in a conversation with the new British ambassador Neris Jones, stressed that the constitutional changes aim to strengthen the independence of the judiciary, the accountability of public office holders and the integrity of institutions.

Source: RTCG