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Montenegro’s governing Europe Now! (Pokret Evropa sad!) party has taken a significant step towards closer integration with Europe by joining the European People’s Party (EPP) as an observer member.
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The decision was approved by the EPP’s Political Assembly during its meeting earlier this month, and the President Manfred Weber welcomed the new member by posting on social media, “A bigger EPP family means a stronger future.”
Membership will provide access to policy discussions, networking and support from EU institutions.
Weber went on to thank Montenegro’s prime minister and leader of Europe Now! Milojko Spajic “for your leadership and commitment to Montenegro’s path to the EU. United by values, building a Europe that puts people first.”
The EPP is the largest political group in the bloc. It includes parties such as Germany’s Christian Democratic Union, Spain’s People’s Party, Poland’s Civic Platform and Greece’s New Democracy.
For Montenegro, it solidifies the country’s plans to be a frontrunner among the Western Balkan states seeking EU membership.
What does observer status mean?
The EPP has several levels of affiliation, reflecting how closely a party is integrated with the organisation and whether the nation it represents is an EU member.
Observer membership is not full membership. It is intended for parties that are politically aligned with the EPP but are not ready to become full members or associate members. Observer parties can attend congresses, political assemblies and participate in discussions, but they do not have voting rights within the EPP.
Montenegro’s EU ambitions
Separately on Tuesday evening, the European Commission said in a post on Facebook that it has “proposed how the country will participate in the EU budget once it joins the EU”, emphasising that “the goal is to make the transition to EU accession as smooth as possible”.
The developments come as Montenegro has accelerated its EU accession process. The EU began work on drafting Montenegro’s accession treaty in April 2026 after the bloc’s current members voted in favour of progressing the Balkan nation.
This marked a new stage in negotiations, and President Jakov Milatović told the European Parliament that Montenegro is ready to become the EU’s next member state and reaffirmed the government’s ambition to join by 2028.
At a Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) held on 24 April in Montenegro’s capital city Podgorica, Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević said that alongside the closing of the negotiation chapters, the drafting of an accession pact heralds the “final lap of a fourteen-year marathon on the path towards the EU”.
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