The Ambassador of the EU to Montenegro, Oana Cristina Popa, spoke about the significance of receiving a positive report on the fulfilment of the interim benchmarks in Chapters 23 and 24, as part of the "IBAR – Key to the EU Membership" campaign led by the Ministry of European Affairs.

She emphasised that achieving the IBAR was an incredible team effort at all levels, both vertically and horizontally, encompassing technical, political, and diplomatic dimensions.

"The Montenegrin side, the EU Delegation, all of the Montenegrin institutions, the negotiating team, and from Brussels our extraordinary colleagues from DGNEAR, COREPER, EU Ambassadors, and now the ministers in the Council of the EU, have all worked together in an unprecedented show of unity, to achieve this historic moment for Montenegro", said Popa.

She added that the most important thing about the IBAR, which, she says, has not been talked about enough, is that the IBAR is the first for Montenegro, but it is also the first for the European Commission.

“It has never been done before. Because, on the one hand, it was introduced by the new conditionality of the new methodology, and, at the same time, Montenegro is the first candidate country that goes through this process," said Popa.

She pointed out that the IBAR is important because—according to the New Accession Methodology— without it, a candidate country cannot move forward.

“If you wish, think about it like a video game. You cannot move to the next stage or to the next level until you complete the previous one! So, the IBAR is necessary, but not sufficient. The IBAR is definitely not the end! In fact, it is a new beginning, but it opens the road to infinite possibilities to speed up the accession process and to move closer to accession, for Montenegro" explained Popa.