00:00Montenegro wants to become the European Union's next success story.
00:04After years of negotiations, Podgorica is presenting itself as the frontrunner among the Western Balkan candidates.
00:11But the final stretch may prove the hardest.
00:14Judicial independence, corruption and the rule of law remain key tests.
00:19And questions remain about whether the EU itself is politically ready to welcome new members.
00:25To go deeper into this topic, I'm now joined in our studio by Montenegro's ambassador to the European Union, Petar
00:31Markovic.
00:32Good morning and welcome.
00:33Good morning. Thank you for having me.
00:35So Montenegro has repeatedly presented itself as the frontrunner in the EU enlargement process.
00:42Why should people believe that this time membership is just around the corner?
00:47Well, because it's not Montenegro presenting itself as a frontrunner.
00:51It's the European Commission and just in the last year, 14 times all EU member states agreed with the commission
00:59that we are the frontrunner
01:01because that's how many chapters we closed between the last report and the incoming one coming, well, being published tomorrow.
01:09So that means that all EU 27 member states and the institutions of the EU repeatedly claim Montenegro is the
01:18frontrunner
01:18and we indeed are because we have been working round the clock for years now and this summer we didn't
01:26even have a summer break.
01:28We were really working round the clock to fulfil 150 deliverables in the rule of law area.
01:34So when you say it's now the test of fighting corruption and boostering our rule of law, this is not
01:41now the test.
01:42As this test has been passed, we have forwarded to the commission the reports claiming and showing evidence by evidence
01:51that we have fulfilled these 150 deliverables.
01:54You have said 2028. That's not that far away.
01:57As your target for EU accession.
02:00Now, is this still a realistic deadline or has it become a political slogan?
02:05No, not at all. It's very much realistic.
02:08Just a few weeks ago, the president of the commission, Madam von der Leyen, was in Podgorica and she said,
02:13we believe in Montenegro becoming the 28th member by the end of 2028.
02:18So it is on track, not just by Montenegro's standards, but by those who actually are deciding.
02:24What are the, you know, two or three biggest obstacles Montenegro still needs to overcome before it can close the
02:34accession process?
02:36So, but there is now an ongoing process to amend our constitution for the second time in just a few
02:44months as part of the obligations in chapter 23 on judiciary and justice.
02:50It is a process which is lengthy because our constitution cannot be changed at once.
02:56It's a three-pronged process and we are now halfway through it and we expect to do it within this
03:01month.
03:02So this is the biggest domestic obstacle we are facing.
03:05We are also facing the intensified talks with our closest EU member state and neighbor Croatia to resolve some open
03:17questions of mutual interest,
03:19which we are confident will be done satisfactorily for both sides also record quickly in order for the process to
03:28not stall.
03:29And how much of the remaining work is in Montenegro's hands and how much depends on decisions made in Brussels
03:37and in EU capitals?
03:38So, there's 33 negotiated chapters at this point.
03:43We have submitted all the reports and done all the homework testifying that we have not only adopted legislation but
03:50employed people, changed things on the ground.
03:53All this has been done some 10 days ago.
03:57So Montenegro has finished its homework at this stage of our accession saga and it's really in the hands of
04:05the EU member states now.
04:07Yeah, it is a saga.
04:08When did it first start?
04:09We applied for, well, the negotiations really started in 2012.
04:15And I might remind your viewers that we are the only member states among 10 of them now, candidate countries,
04:21that has had to negotiate to open each chapter separately before the French new methodology.
04:28So we have done the double work compared to other candidates.
04:31All right, Peter Markovic, Montenegro's ambassador to the European Union.
04:35Thank you so much for coming on.
04:36Thanks for joining.
04:37Thanks for joining.
