The European Commission said accession negotiations with Montenegro can be concluded by the end of 2026 in its annual enlargement package published Nov. 4, with EU officials indicating an accession treaty could be signed as early as June 2027 and that membership could follow in 2028. Montenegro has provisionally closed 21 of 33 chapters, with member states set to close one more on Nov. 6, while Albania, Moldova and Ukraine have set targets of concluding negotiations by the end of 2027, early 2028 and the end of 2028, respectively.