EU member state ambassadors have decided to form a dedicated working group to draft an accession treaty with Montenegro. In a first for EU enlargement history, the treaty will include additional safeguard mechanisms against democratic backsliding and rule of law failures. The target: membership in 2028.

Montenegro's Minister for European Affairs, Majda Gorčević, described it as "the last lap of a fourteen-year marathon." The country has been negotiating since 2010 - 16 years. Of 33 chapters, 14 are temporarily closed; the rest need finalizing in the coming months.

For the region, this is a significant signal: Western Balkans EU membership before the end of the decade is not fantasy. After Slovenia, Croatia, and now with Hungary in the process - this is not just a diplomatic win for Podgorica. It's proof the path is real, not merely declarative.

Macedonia watches the process with a mix of hope and bitterness. We signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement in 2001 - years before Montenegro. Political blockades, reforms promised and delayed, have consumed the time. Has the lesson been learned?