Skopje, 31 March 2026 (MIA) - If we judge by the screening and reform capacities, we should very quickly become a member of the European Union, provided there is understanding about the obstacle imposed outside of European standards and criteria, President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova told journalists Tuesday at a joint press conference with the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, who is on official visit to the country.

Asked to comment on Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski’s statement on Sunday that if necessary the country would “wait for decades” instead of accepting policies “that directly affect our identity while also failing to provide predictability and a clear end to the process”, the President said the statement was in a conditional form.

“The Prime Minister’s statement was in a conditional form – if necessary. I think that, compared technically, after Montenegro we are deep into the Euro-integration process, seen through the lens of reforms. But I wouldn’t be able to talk about clusters and chapters like my colleague, because for the first time in the history of the EU and in the history of the European community, conditions like these are being set in order to launch negotiations. If we judge through a technical lens, through the screening lens, the reform capacities, provided there is understanding about the obstacle that is outside of the European standards and criteria, we could and we should very quickly become a member of the EU,” the President said at the press conference.

According to the President, Montenegro becoming a member of the EU would demonstrate that membership for the Western Balkans is a reality.

“On the one hand, enlargement is a matter tied to a strategic approach to security, since it is also a security issue. On the other hand, the chaos in which the world finds itself makes it difficult to pursue things that, in times of peace, would be entirely routine. Yet I believe this very situation calls for a more decisive stance toward the Western Balkans, which of course includes Montenegro. At the same time, the question of internal reforms within the European Union remains, for which I don’t think now is the time, I do not mean they are unnecessary, but I think the current conditions do not allow for them right now,” Siljanovska-Davkova assessed. 

Her Montenegrin counterpart, President Milatović said Montenegro is a leader in the Euro-integration process and the country’s EU accession would send a strong and important message that membership is possible.

“Let's not forget that the last country to join the EU was Croatia in the distant 2013. That is why, Montenegro’s membership in the EU, which we would like to realize in 2028, would be not just Montenegro’s success but also a message to all other countries – that reforms pay off, that enlargement is alive, and that the future of the entire Western Balkan region lies in the EU,” Milatović stressed at the joint press conference.

On Tuesday afternoon, Milatović will visit the Parliament in Skopje and address the MPs.

Photo: MIA