Montenegro confirms it has achieved the required level of alignment with the EU acquis in the areas of competition policy and the customs union

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić is leading a Montenegrin delegation to Brussels today, 14 July, to attend the Intergovernmental Conference between Montenegro and the European Union, where negotiating Chapter 8 - Competition Policy and Chapter 29 - Customs Union will be provisionally closed.

According to the Government, the closure of these two negotiating chapters, which belong to Clusters 2 and 3, confirms that Montenegro has achieved the required level of alignment with the EU acquis in the fields of competition policy and the customs union.

- With the provisional closure of these two chapters, Montenegro will have provisionally closed a total of 18 negotiating chapters, confirming the continuity of progress in the accession negotiations - the Government said in a statement.

The holding of the Intergovernmental Conference marks another important step in the final phase of Montenegro's EU accession negotiations, demonstrating the country's commitment to implementing comprehensive reforms and reflecting the European Union's confidence in the progress achieved so far.

Following the conference, Prime Minister Spajić, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, and Ireland's Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Thomas Byrne, will hold a joint press conference.

The delegation led by Prime Minister Spajić also includes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ervin Ibrahimović, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development Nik Đeljošaj, Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević and Minister of Finance Novica Vuković.