Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
290. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Ireland will support Montenegro's path towards European Union membership (details supplied) and give a detailed response to all the issues raised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37588/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland is a strong supporter of merit-based EU enlargement, which will be a key priority of our EU Presidency. We believe that all candidate countries should join the EU once they have met the necessary accession criteria.
Ireland welcomes Montenegro’s significant efforts towards EU membership and supports Montenegro’s aim to join the EU in 2028. We will work with the European Commission, Member States and the authorities in Montenegro to complete the closure of the remaining negotiating chapters during our EU Presidency.
Montenegro is the most advanced candidate country in accession negotiations, with all 33 chapters opened and 14 provisionally closed. I do not underestimate the enormous administrative and policy reform work that goes into closing chapters and aligning a candidate country with the EU acquis. At the end of April, the Ad-Hoc Committee on Drafting Montenegro’s Accession Treaty – which Ireland will be chairing during our Presidency – was established. This step, which I welcome, is seen as an important signal by EU Member States that a candidate is moving into the closing phase of the negotiation process. Ireland will seek to build upon this momentum during our Presidency and encourages Montenegro to implement the necessary reforms to align with all EU laws to allow them to close all remaining chapters.
Throughout this process, Ireland’s bilateral relationship with Montenegro is strengthening. In September, the Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Montenegro visited Dublin where he met both the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach. In February this year, the President of Montenegro paid the first official bilateral visit of a Montenegrin President to Ireland. On 11 May, I participated in a discussion at the Foreign Affairs Council on the EU's relations with Western Balkans countries, including Montenegro. Next month, the Taoiseach will attend the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Montenegro and the Montenegrin Minister for European Affairs will visit Ireland.
Ireland is also providing technical support to Montenegro to strengthen their administrative and institutional capacity. Last year, my Department, through the EU Enlargement and Fundamental Values Fund, launched the “Ireland for EU Enlargement” capacity-building programme which supports candidate countries engaged in the EU accession process. Officials from Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, and Moldova participated in the 2025 programme. This year, the programme has been expanded to invite officials from all six Western Balkan countries, as well as Ukraine and Moldova.
Ireland will maintain full support to Montenegro on its EU accession path. We will continue to provide it with political and technical assistance as it enters a vital period for its goal of joining the EU.
