Speaker 1en
Bear with us a second. Oh, amazing. Sorry. Afternoon, everyone, and welcome to this press conference following today's EU Montenegro intergovernmental conference. We're joined by Ireland's Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, and the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić. I'll first give the floor to Minister Byrne.
Speaker 2en
Thanks very much, and good afternoon, everybody. Good afternoon, Prime Minister. Today, Montenegro took another significant step on its EU path. It was a great pleasure to chair the 30th accession conference for Montenegro, and to be joined by Prime Minister Spajić, and by the Director General for Enlargement, DG Koopman. The momentum of Montenegro toward EU membership is significant, and very encouraging. The Council today confirmed that Montenegro is ready to close two additional negotiating chapters, namely Chapter 1 on free movement of goods, and Chapter 12 on food safety, veterinary, and phytosanitary policy. Montenegro has now closed 23 negotiating chapters, meaning two-thirds of the negotiating chapters required. So the goal of concluding technical negotiations during the Irish presidency is in sight. Nobody wants or indeed expects shortcuts in the process. But shortcomings in this process are not what we want or expect either. The Irish presidency remains determined to facilitate Montenegro's goal of closing all chapters by the end of the year, and we will work closely with Montenegro with European Commission, and indeed with fellow member states, to facilitate this goal. We cannot do it without the member states, and I'm very grateful for all of their work. This intergovernmental conference demonstrates that Montenegro's accession process is advancing at an impressive pace. This extraordinary momentum was reflected in the 2026 enlargement report, which the Commission published this week. And I want to thank Commissioner Martha Kos for her leadership in this regard. The enlargement report highlighted the significant number of reforms implemented by Montenegro over the past year, while also identifying the remaining steps needed to further align national legislation with the key of the European Union. Crucially, the report confirms that Montenegro has met all closing benchmarks to conclude technical negotiations under the Irish presidency. Montenegro's goal of closing all chapters is achievable during our presidency.
The Irish presidency encourages Montenegro to maintain the momentum and to implement the outstanding measures necessary to become the next member of the European Union. As we witnessed at the Berlin process, leaders summit in Montenegro two weeks ago, the commitment of Montenegro to the European Union, and crucially to the values of the European Union, is absolutely clear. The Irish presidency then will spare no effort in supporting Montenegro on its EU path, with the member states, with the aim of welcoming Montenegro into our union in 2028. The future of Montenegro lies in the European Union. The end of the negotiations is in sight, but for now, the hard work does continue. Thank you.
Speaker 1en
Thank you, Minister. Prime Minister, the floor is yours.
Speaker 3en
Thank you very much, Dear Thomas.
Speaker 3hr
Dear citizens of Montenegro, we are concluding this excellent, great week for both Podgorica and Brussels. Today we closed two more negotiating chapters, bringing the total to more than two-thirds of all chapters.
Speaker 3en
Todays ago, the European Commission presented what I'm convinced will be its final report on Montenegro as a candidate country. Together with roadmap for our accession, as part of the enlargement package, which comes after full 15 years. Today we closed two more negotiating chapters. This brings the total number of closed chapters to 23 out of 33. All member states gave the green light to Chapter 1, free movement of goods, and Chapter 12, food safety, veterinary, and phytosanitary policies. Chapter 1 is one of the most important and demanding chapters in the negotiations, as it's concerns the functioning of the European Union's single market. As for Chapter 12, its main focus is on food quality and safety controls at all stages, from production to the final consumer. I congratulate Montenegro's teams; our institutions and everyone who with the unwavering support of the European Commission and all the member states has done everything necessary to achieve this important result. At the IGC in January, we stated that 2026 would be the most decisive year on Montenegro's EU path. Now, as the year draws to a close, we are delivering on that very much commitment. It has not been easy. Behind every chapter closed and every demanding reform lie tremendous effort, difficult decisions, responsibility dedication, and strong determination. And the results are here. Our focus remains unchanged: the rule of law, independent and accountable institutions, the fight against organized crime and corruption, improving citizens' living standards, and fostering good neighborly relations. Our roadmap to accession is not a lengthy in terms of time, but it is exceptionally demanding. That is why we will continue to work diligently in the coming weeks to conclude the negotiations by end of this year. Sign the accession treaty in June 2027, and achieve our historic goal in 2028, becoming a member of the European Union. This is not merely the ambition of this government; it is a strategic national goal and a commitment
that must transcend any political term of office. Today I would also like to thank all member states for their support in the closure of all the chapters to date. And to send a message, Montenegro is ready for all the remaining chapters and for the final stage. We expect our work, the results achieved, and obligations fulfilled to be duly acknowledged with European political determination. That is why I look forward to meeting again later this month and the next IGC with further chapters closed. And then, in December, which I'm convinced will provide the strongest political confirmation that we have crossed the threshold together beyond which we will be ready to take the final steps towards our historical goal, EU enlargement with Montenegro as part of it. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1en
Thank you, Prime Minister. I'll now open the floor for questions. First, the gentleman there.
Speaker 4en
Thank you very much. Ewan Vianeu is from Television of Montenegro. Mr. Byrne, we saw the roadmap for Montenegro, the ambitious but realistic, as you said. Did the Council discuss maybe the target date when Montenegro could join the European Union? And for Prime Minister Spajić, the signing of the accession treaty, with Montenegro in June, could coincide with the elections in Montenegro. So do you think that this government will sign the accession treaty? Thank you very much.
Speaker 3en
I think 2028 is very achievable, but my main focus is on the remaining weeks of our presidency, and our targets to conclude the technical negotiations during that time. And I think that we can start talking about ifs or buts of the future, but we have the present now, and we're making really, really significant progress in the present. I think we've had quite a number of intergovernmental conferences. We've closed quite a number of chapters that are more to come. We've had today's intergovernmental conference out of sequence, in order that we can continue progress and keep the momentum up. And that's what the presidency is about, is to do that work, to have that finished during our presidency, and to let the rest of the work then complete next year, on the accession treaty negotiation and then membership after that. But we're absolutely focused on the present, and we're delivering in the present as well.
Speaker 4en
Exactly. And I think it's it is outstanding that European Commission came out so clearly stating the roadmap and the exact dates and this is something that we really are proud of, that this is a sign of political commitment, also on the technical side of things, as you know, we have submitted all the positions for all the negotiating chapters already to European Commission. Most of them are already with the Council, so we are working very hard. This year is the target that we close all the chapters, as we discussed many times so far. So this we go one step at a time. And I think now we have to put all of our focus on closing all the chapters this year. This is what really matters, and this is where rubber hits the road, where we really make the substantial difference. And the signing of the contract, agreement, sorry, is scheduled for June next year, and we hope it happens. So this is we are fully committed to this, and I'm sure it's achievable.
Speaker 1en
Okay. Next to Viborg, please.
Viborg VlainićCroatian Radio Televisionen
Thank you. Viborg Vlainić, Croatian Radio Television. A question for both, for Prime Minister Spajić related to the open issues between Montenegro and Croatia. Two of eight issues were resolved recently. Do you expect any further progress on the rest of the issues in the future, in the closer future? And for Minister Byrne, how does the Irish presidency view those open issues that Croatia is claiming they are not just bilateral, but that they are tied to negotiating chapters and that they are basic values? Thank you.
Speaker 3en
Thank you very much for the question. We are tirelessly working our teams from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro with a team from Croatia. We are tirelessly working on solving any potential bilateral issues that we might have. And obviously, Montenegro is not going to leave any stone unturned until we find European-style compromise on all the things that are potentially dividing us. So I think it's a great opportunity that we bring our two countries together in a European manner.
Speaker 4en
Yeah, can I just say that I before the IGC, I met the Croatian State Secretary Andreja Metelko as Gombić, the State Secretary for European Affairs. We had a very good discussion, which focused on this process. I'm very grateful for the work of the Croatian government in allowing us to make such substantial progress here. And there's no doubt there are bilateral issues there, and there are always bilateral issues. We had the Marcelos as well, and still have them with neighbors. So that's normal. That's natural. But I am confident, and I'm meeting the Prime Minister separately now, after this, I'm confident that these are resolvable and will be resolved. To everybody's satisfaction.
Speaker 1en
Okay. If there's no other questions, I don't see any other hands. So we'll wrap up there. Thank you very much.
Speaker 3en
Thank you.
Speaker 4en
All right. Make more progress, yeah.