EU enlargement: Montenegro has closed 21 of 33 chapters, Albania 4; what the Commission announced on the Western Balkans

The European Union provisionally closed three more accession negotiation chapters with Montenegro on Monday, October 12, and one with Albania on Tuesday, October 13. With the new chapters Montenegro has provisionally closed 21 of the 33 chapters of the acquis, with 12 remaining, while Albania has closed 4 and still has 29 open, as announced and confirmed by the European Commission.

Montenegro: chapters 17, 18 and 19 closed

At the second intergovernmental conference with Montenegro under the Irish presidency of the Council, chapters 17 (economic and monetary policy), 18 (statistics) and 19 (social policy and employment) were closed. The previous conference, on July 14, had closed chapter 8 (competition policy) and chapter 29 (customs union). Montenegro has opened all 33 chapters.

Irish Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne, representing the presidency, said that “enlargement is a geopolitical necessity for the EU and remains a top priority of the Irish presidency”, and noted that Montenegro is moving towards closing all remaining chapters.

Albania: chapter 20 closed

At the second intergovernmental conference with Albania under the Irish presidency, chapter 20, on enterprise and industrial policy, was provisionally closed. In July chapters 25 (science and research), 26 (education and culture) and 30 (external relations) had closed. Byrne welcomed the closing of “one more chapter” and urged Albania to “stay steady on the key reforms” in the coming months. Albania has opened all 33 chapters that have passed through the screening process.

What “provisional closing” means

The Commission reminds that agreements per chapter are not final until there is an overall agreement on all chapters, and that the EU can return to them if necessary. Under the 2020 methodology, chapters are grouped into six clusters: Fundamentals; Internal market; Competitiveness and inclusive growth; Green agenda and sustainable connectivity; Resources, agriculture and cohesion; and External relations. The Fundamentals cluster opens first and closes last, and its progress sets the pace of negotiations.

The Greek neighbourhood

Albania and Montenegro are neighbours of Greece, and Athens has sent its own message for the region, as in Defence Minister Nikos Dendias’s visit to Montenegro, which also had a defence dimension, and in the presence of Greek F-16s over Albania for the celebrations of the Albanian Air Force. In the same days the candidate countries were also linked to the European Centre for Democratic Resilience, at the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg.