Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – According to Chief Negotiator with the European Union Predrag Zenovic, Montenegro will, succeed in closing all negotiating chapters by the end of the year through dedicated work and measurable results.

At a meeting of the EU-Montenegro Subcommittee on Trade, Industry, Customs and Taxation, held in a hybrid format, he stated that Montenegro continues to achieve concrete results in the relevant chapters, with an increasing focus on implementation.

“Our efforts are directed not only at legislative alignment, but also at ensuring effective implementation, modernizing administrative systems, and strengthening institutional capacities. In that sense, we expect that continuous work and measurable results will enable decisive progress towards closing Chapters 1, 16 and 29, as well as all others by the end of 2026,” Zenovic said.

During the meeting, results and progress were presented in negotiating Chapters 1 – Free Movement of Goods, 16 – Taxation, and 29 – Customs Union, as well as in Chapters 20 – Enterprise and Industrial Policy and 30 – External Relations, which have been provisionally closed.

Zenovic said that EU membership remains a strategic priority, and that the accession process continues to be a key driver of economic development, institutional strengthening, and improved competitiveness.

Co-chairing on the EU side, Krzysztof Zurek of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood said that significant progress had been achieved in all chapters under this Subcommittee, but that efforts need to be intensified in order to provisionally close all chapters by the end of the year.