The European Union (EU) announced that the "competition policy" and "customs union" chapters in the membership negotiations with Montenegro have been temporarily closed.
According to the statement made by the EU Council, at the 28th meeting of the Accession Conference held with Montenegro in Brussels, it was decided to temporarily close the 8th chapter (competition policy) and the 29th chapter (customs union) in the membership negotiations.
Thus, the number of temporarily closed negotiation chapters of Montenegro increased to 18.
Making a statement on behalf of Ireland, the Term President of the EU Council, Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defense, stated that Montenegro continues to be a leading country in the EU accession process, and that the enlargement policy is a geopolitical necessity for Europe's stability, security and democratic reforms.
Progress towards alignment and implementation of the EU acquis will continue to be monitored throughout the negotiations, and compromises reached on certain chapters will not be final until a general agreement is reached on all negotiation chapters.
Montenegro applied for EU membership in December 2008, gained candidate country status in 2010, and started accession negotiations in June 2012.
Montenegro, which is shown as the most advanced candidate country in the EU accession process, opened all 33 negotiation chapters and provisionally closed 18 of them.