Montenegro’s President Eyes Berlin Bump in EU Accession Sprint

Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatović has underscored the vital role of German support as his country enters what he described as the final phase of its EU accession process. Speaking on the strategic necessity of bilateral backing, Milatović highlighted Berlin's political weight as particularly decisive at this juncture. Joining the European Union is a multi-year marathon in which a candidate nation must systematically align its domestic legal system, legal standards, and market rules with the EU’s vast body of legislation. For candidate countries approaching the finish line, securing the explicit backing of the bloc's largest economy and heavyweight diplomatic player is often what prevents technical progress from stalling in national capitals.

For citizens in Montenegro, entering the European Union means eventual access to the EU single market, freedom to work and study across 27 member nations, and substantial structural funding aimed at raising living standards. For the EU, integrating candidate states in the Western Balkans is considered key to long-term stability on the continent. However, the mechanism of enlargement is deliberately unhurried: every step forward requires unanimous consent from all current EU member governments. A single national government can halt an entire country's progress. Winning strong backing from Berlin provides Podgorica with vital leverage when navigating the final, politically delicate hurdles of membership.

In the corridors of Brussels, accession is half administrative marathon and half diplomatic negotiation. While the European Commission—the EU's executive branch—assesses whether a candidate state meets technical criteria across 35 legislative chapters, political clearance rests entirely with the Council of the European Union, where existing member state governments hold individual veto power. The procedure is famously tailored to make getting in difficult, ensuring no applicant slips through without satisfying every member state. A clear signal of support from Germany reassures more skeptical capitals, helping to smooth out friction in the Council before procedural debates harden into national vetoes.

As Montenegro works to complete its remaining legal reforms and close its final negotiation chapters, the focus turns to whether Berlin's endorsement can help maintain momentum among EU member states. Podgorica must continue meeting the Commission’s formal benchmarks while preserving diplomatic consensus across national capitals. Any eventual accession treaty will ultimately require formal ratification by every existing member state, leaving plenty of legislative checkpoints ahead before any new member can officially take its seat.