MONTENEGRO

DELEGATION OF EUROPEAN UNION TO MONTENEGRO

Montenegro and European Union

This text looks at the transformation of the role of the European Union (EU) in Montenegro. It argues that the changing political context in the region induced shifts in the EU’s approach to the smallest of the post-Yugoslav states. In supporting this argument, the chapter first looks at the EU’s approach to Montenegro in the first years after the disintegration of Yugoslavia, when Montenegro was a constituent state of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and when the ruling Montenegrin elites were associated with Slobodan Milošević. The text further argues that the first significant relational shift between Montenegro and the EU occurred in 1997, when the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) split in two. The fact that the DPS faction, who remained in power in Montenegro, opposed the regime in Belgrade induced a more favourable approach from the EU towards the republic.

Membership status

Candidate country

Background:

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – along with other Western Balkans countries – was identified as a potential candidate for EU membership during theThessaloniki European Councilsummit in 2003.

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia applied for EU membership in March 2004. The Commission issued a favourable opinion in November 2005, and the Council decided in December 2005 to grant the country candidate status. In October 2009, the Commission recommended that accession negotiations be opened.

Post-2005: Combining the Roles of an Active Player and a Framework for Integration at an Advanced Stage of the Accession Process 

Having applied for EU membership in 2004 and having obtained the status of candidate country for EU accession in 2005, Macedonia also became subject to EU conditionality through the regular progress reports and the European Partnerships. In fact, in 2005, in its relations with the region the EU introduced these formal instruments used in the previous enlargement, thereby developing its role as a framework for integration. These new instruments of monitoring were accompanied by institutional changes as the transfer of competences for the countries concerned from the Directorate General for External relations to the Directorate General for Enlargement. This change was ‘a symbolic move testifying to the Union’s strong commitment to the countries in question’. This set of reforms illustrates the post-2005 trend of developing the role of the EU in the region as a framework for integration in the long-term perspective. In other words, for the development and stabilization of this role, the Union needed to become a source of alternative solutions, rather than an actor involved in the everyday politics of the candidate countries.