An Intergovernmental Conference between Montenegro and the European Union, at which Montenegro will close another negotiating chapter with the EU, will be held in Brussels on Monday, January 26, 2026.
“This is more than good news for Montenegro. With a strong tailwind, we are entering the most important year on our integration path,” said Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević following today’s Government session.
The Minister explained that this concerns Chapter 32 – Financial Control, which relates to the adoption of internationally accepted standards in the areas of public internal financial control, external audit, and EU best practices, as well as their application across the entire public sector, including discipline and transparency in the use of national and EU funds.
Gorčević highlighted the very positive approach of Cyprus, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and which, by scheduling the Intergovernmental Conference with Montenegro as early as January, confirms its commitment to achieving the goal of Montenegro’s EU membership by 2028.
“And not only Cyprus as the presiding Member State, but all other EU Member States as well—by voting to close another chapter with Montenegro at the very beginning of the year—are genuinely confirming their commitment to enlargement and strengthening the European Union. At the same time, Member States are very clearly expressing their determination for Montenegro to become the 28th EU Member State by 2028,” Gorčević concluded.
The closure of Chapter 32 – Financial Control represents an important step forward for Montenegro on its path toward EU membership and a clear signal of the trust that the European Union has in the ability of our institutions to protect the financial interests of the state and the EU, and to manage public funds responsibly and transparently. This is another chapter from Cluster 1 – Fundamentals, the closure of which further strengthens the overall credibility of the reform process.
This success follows the closure of Chapter 5 – Public Procurement, in which the European Commission recognized the maturity of the system and the concrete results of reforms, confirming a high level of trust in Montenegrin institutions when it comes to control and transparency in the spending of public money.
By closing Chapter 32, Montenegro is taking an important step closer to meeting the final benchmarks for closing Cluster 1, which also includes the key Chapters 23 and 24, as well as the statistics chapter, which together form the foundation of the entire negotiation process.
The particular importance of this chapter lies in the improvement of the internal financial control system, the strengthening of the independence and capacities of the State Audit Institution, and the protection of the EU’s financial interests and the euro from counterfeiting. This further confirms the European Union’s trust in our institutional framework and our ability to assume the obligations of membership. With the establishment of a budget inspection, we have additionally strengthened control over the spending of public funds and sent a clear message that the protection of financial operations and public money is one of the key priorities of the Government of Montenegro.