Montenegro hopes to sign a European Union accession treaty by the summer of 2027 in order to become a member of the organization by 2028, Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović told journalists ahead of the European Political Community (EPC) summit, Report's correspondent in Dublin informs.
"We hope to sign the accession treaty (to the EU - ed.) in the first half of 2027. We will see when the elections take place, but I consider this scenario highly probable. Why not? This will be a huge step forward for us," he noted.
According to Milatović, Montenegro has advanced further than other candidate countries on the path to joining the EU.
The head of state noted that with the support of Ireland, the country aims to conclude negotiations on all chapters by the end of this year in order to sign the EU accession treaty by the summer of next year.
"We hope that by 2028 Montenegro will become the 28th member state of the European Union," the president stated.
He emphasized that this will be a significant event not only for Montenegro but also for the European Union as a whole: "After so many years without enlargement, the European Union will finally demonstrate through the example of Montenegro that the process is continuing. I think this will be an extremely positive signal for all other candidate countries."