site.btaMontenegro’s President: North Macedonia Has a Choice on EU Path

When it comes to European integration, North Macedonia has a choice, Montenegro’s President Jakov Milatovic said in an interview for state broadcaster MRT, adding that both citizens and political leaders must decide whether they want to “be right” or see the country join the European Union.

"I believe North Macedonia has suffered a great deal of injustice in the European integration process. As you noted, it received candidate status as early as 2005, before Montenegro even restored its independence. However, bilateral relations between North Macedonia and its neighbours have often been the main obstacle on its path to the EU. But the world we live in is not always fair," Milatovic said. "It is up to the Macedonian people and decision-makers to determine how best to approach this. Ultimately, you have a choice: whether you want to be right, or whether you want to become a member of the European Union. That is the choice you have," he added.

Montenegro has set an ambitious but achievable goal, to become the 28th EU member state by 2028, Milatovic said. "Although it is the smallest among all candidate countries, Montenegro wants to send an important message through its example, together with its European partners, that enlargement is alive, that it is happening, and that it is not just rhetoric from European politicians," he added.

Asked whether EU member states would ratify only Montenegro’s accession treaty or whether the country might have to wait for other candidates to complete the process and join together as a group, Milatovic said it is entirely realistic for Montenegro to join in 2028 or 2029, "certainly within the mandate of the current European Commission" along with Iceland.

Milatovic noted that North Macedonia is not the only country facing "specific bilateral issues" in the accession process.

"You mentioned that Montenegro also has some open issues with Croatia, which, as an EU member state, holds greater leverage in the negotiation process. Unfortunately, Croatia has already blocked the closure of one negotiation chapter that was technically ready to be finalized, but politically it did not give its approval. We hope that in the coming period we will be able to resolve these issues together with our Croatian partners. I believe Montenegro’s EU membership would also be in Croatia’s interest, as it would further strengthen stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans. However, it is important to understand that beyond the technical aspects of adopting EU legislation, there is also a political dimension, each of the 27 member states must approve the accession of any new member. In that sense, we certainly need to focus most on our relations with Croatia, and likely with some other countries as well," he said.

According to Milatovic, the roadmap of each candidate country’s reform programme should be used to make their societies more democratic, economically developed, and institutionally stable.

"I support this approach in Montenegro as part of our domestic policy, we must genuinely implement the reforms required of us. In the end, we should not do this for the sake of some European bureaucracy, but for our own citizens and their better quality of life. That is essentially the opportunity that we and all candidate countries have: to carry out meaningful reforms," he added.

Montenegro’s president was on a two-day official visit to North Macedonia this week.