Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – Montenegro expects to provisionally close Chapter 11 – Agriculture and rural development, one of the most demanding chapters in the process of accession to the European Union (EU), at the Intergovernmental Conference in mid-December.

Representatives of the negotiating team believe that Montenegro has fulfilled all key obligations and that the decision is now up to the 27 EU member states.

The head of the negotiating team for Chapter 11 Miroslav Cimbaljevic said that Montenegro is in the final phase of one of the most important negotiation processes.

“We have achieved a high level of agreement with the European Commission that we have fulfilled everything required of us. We have established a functional Paying Agency, completed the integrated administrative and control system, and adopted all necessary laws. With this, we have met the closing benchmarks and gained the conditions for the provisional closure of the chapter,” Cimbaljevic said in an interview with Mina-business agency.

The provisional closure of Chapter 11 opens the door to implementing the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU’s most significant policy, which accounts for around 40 percent of the Union’s total budget. The secretary of the negotiating team for Chapter 11, Granica Kovacevic Petric, believes this will bring new stability and predictability to Montenegrin farmers.

“By joining the EU, our farmers will have access to much larger amounts of financial support, which they can use to modernize equipment, improve farms, and increase competitiveness. This will enable them to create added value and sell their products more easily,” Kovacevic Petric said.

Representatives of the negotiating team stated that they do not want to speculate about the amount of funds that will be available to Montenegrin agriculture once Montenegro becomes an EU member, as it depends on several factors. They added that they can confidently confirm the funds will be many times greater than they are now.