European Union foreign ministers agreed at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday to grant membership candidate status to Montenegro, and a formal decision will be made by EU heads of state or government at a summit later this week.
The European Commission recommended early in November that Montenegro be granted candidate status but not a date for the start of accession negotiations.
The Commission set several conditions for Podgorica to meet before launching membership negotiations, including strengthening the rule of law, the reform of its judiciary, election system and public administration, ensuring freedom of the media, cooperation with civil society, and fighting corruption and organised crime.
According to the conclusions adopted by the Council of the EU, a date for the start of accession negotiations with Montenegro could be discussed at the end of next year, after the Commission published its progress report in November 2011.
