Montenegro Appeals to Brussels and Rejects Friendship with Moscow 0 43

Montenegro will "very soon" align its visa policy with the European Union, stated the country's president Jakov Milatović to Politico during his visit to Brussels. He admitted that Russians remain the largest foreign investors in the republic, and the authorities are trying to delay the introduction of a visa regime to preserve the tourism sector. Montenegro has not yet introduced visas for Russian citizens, who can stay in the country for up to 30 days without a permit.

Milatović also appealed to the leadership of the European Union for assistance to help the Balkan republic counter "Russian disinformation campaigns." He hopes for the creation of support mechanisms similar to those that the EU applies in Moldova, where experts have been sent and funding allocated for a special center.

The Balkan republic applied for EU membership back in 2008 and received candidate status in 2010. As confirmed by a senior Montenegrin diplomat, the country has closed seven out of 33 negotiation chapters and plans to complete another five by December. The authorities aim to join the union by 2028.

The European Union has tightened its visa policy towards Russia since September 2022. At that time, the EU completely suspended the agreement on the facilitation of the visa regime with Russia, which was concluded in 2007. The visa fee for Russians increased from €35 to €80. The European Commission plans to present new recommendations for further tightening the visa policy for Russians by the end of December 2025. The introduction of quotas to reduce the number of visas by 30-40%, prioritizing family and business visas over tourist visas, and regional restrictions for residents of certain regions of Russia are being discussed.