EU Statement on the Report by the Head by the OSCE Mission in Montenegro, Ambassador Jan Haukaas
The European Union welcomes Ambassador Haukaas back to the Permanent Council and commends him and his team for their dedicated work.
We congratulate the Mission for two decades of constructive relations and fruitful partnership with Montenegrin institutions, civil society and media, in support of advancing the broader reform agenda.
We positively note Montenegro’s progress in the accession negotiations, including the provisional closure of numerous negotiating chapters during 2025 and 2026, as well as the advancement of work on drafting the Accession Treaty. We encourage all political forces to find synergies in leading Montenegro on its EU strategic path, to maintain the focus on reforms and on delivering on its citizens’ aspirations for joining the European Union.
We highly appreciate the Mission’s continued support to Montenegrin institutions in strengthening police capacities to address organized crime and corruption, trafficking in human beings, and the misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW). We commend the Mission’s increased focus on enhancing national forensic activities, also by inter-agency co-operation, thereby contributing to more effective criminal investigations and successful prosecutions.
We value its co-operation with the Parliament aimed at strengthening parliamentary governance and democratic oversight, gender mainstreaming, and enhanced parliamentary scrutiny capacities. We highlight the importance of the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in political life, and in this regard welcome the Mission’s support to the development of the third Action Plan for a Gender Sensitive Parliament.
In the field of media, we appreciate the Mission's strong focus on the safety of journalists, also by establishment of Montenegro's national press safety mechanism – the first of this kind in the region, while strengthening media self-regulation, accountability, and professional standards.
Furthermore, we appreciate the Mission’s efforts to further integrate gender equality and youth engagement across its programs, with a specific focus on the prevention and combating of violence against women and girls.
We would also like to particularly highlight the contribution to justice sector reform by the Regional Trial Monitoring Project aimed at strengthening the efficiency and fairness of judicial proceedings, the adjudication of high-level organized crime and corruption cases, and judicial consistency.
Considering Montenegro’s request to close the Mission by the end of 2027, we acknowledge the Mission intention to complete the implementation of its 2025-2027 strategic workplan to assist Montenegro in consolidating OSCE-related reform achievements from the past twenty years with a view to long-term sustainability and in line with the country’s strategic ambitions.
The EU reaffirms its commitment to maintaining the momentum of enlargement, which remains a key policy of the European Union. We reiterate the EU’s unequivocal support for the European Union membership perspective of the Western Balkans, based upon credible reforms by partners, fair and rigorous conditionality and the principle of own merits. Montenegro’s recent achievementswith the provisional closure of numerous negotiation chapters are a strong signal that the EU is ready to move forward with candidate countries and potential candidates when they successfully fulfil the required steps. Continued commitment to EU values, including full alignment with EU CFSP, necessary reforms, and fostering good neighbourly relations, are essential in the enlargement process.
In conclusion, we would like to thank you, Ambassador Haukaas, for your dedicated work and wish you and your dedicated team every success.
Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.