17th meeting of the EU-Montenegro Joint Consaltative Committee

For the 17th time, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Montenegro held the Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) in Brussels on 7 December 2023. The JCC is a civil society platform established between the EESC and Montenegrin civil society. It complements with a civil society point of view the EU institutional framework related to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the EU and Montenegro. This joint institution allows civil society organisations on both sides to monitor the country's accession negotiations. It is also a platform to discuss issues of common interest and to inform the public at large on the challenges ahead during the accession period.

Main topics of the 17th meeting of the EU-Montenegro JCC were:

• Current state of play in EU-Montenegro relations: 2023 Enlargement Package and Montenegro Report, overview of the developments within the Berlin process
• Cluster 1: The Fundamentals of the Accession Process – state of play of remaining unmet obligations, with a specific focus on Public Administration Reform (PAR)
• Overview of the civil society situation in Montenegro, including social dialogue

A joint declaration was adopted at the meeting and will be distributed to all relevant EU institutions, as well as to the Montenegrin authorities.