Balgarianovinite.com 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. Montenegro’s President: North Macedonia Has a Choice on EU Path 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-04-03 05:52:13 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law