Montenegro is the most advanced candidate country for EU accession.

Omissions

• The claim does not specify the metric by which 'most advanced' is measured. By the standard metric of negotiating chapters opened and provisionally closed, the claim is correct. Other metrics such as pace of recent reforms or economic alignment could paint a different picture, though Montenegro also scored highly in the 2025 Enlargement Package.
• The Council press release confirming the latest chapter closures was published on 15 June 2026, one day before the session; the MEP may or may not have seen it at the time of speaking.

Sources

• PrimaryCouncil of the European UnionThe 27th meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro provisionally closed chapters 2 on freedom of movement of workers and 28 on consumer and health protection, bringing the total provisionally closed chapters to 16.
• PrimaryEuropean Commission — Enlargement and Eastern NeighbourhoodAfter eight years of accession negotiations all the 33 screened chapters have been opened, of which 16 are provisionally closed.
• SecondaryEuropean Western BalkansMontenegro is the most advanced candidate country on the road to the EU. The country has opened all 33 negotiating chapters in its EU accession process.
• SecondaryNew Union PostSerbia: Currently, 21 chapters — plus an additional one on the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo — are open, but only two are provisionally closed. Montenegro: all 33 chapters open with more provisionally closed than any other candidate.