Proposed amendments to Montenegro’s Internal Affairs Law and the National Security Agency (ANB) Law are not fully aligned with European Union (EU) legal standards, the European Commission has said.
The EU delegation in Montenegro told local media that its assessment focused particularly on provisions related to data protection, which do not yet comply with EU rules, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Law Enforcement Directive.
To achieve compliance, Montenegro has two options, the EU said: it can either amend the provisions before adopting the laws, or adopt the laws and align them before concluding EU accession negotiations.
The Commission emphasized that final benchmarks for Chapter 24 on justice, freedom and security do not require changes to either the Internal Affairs Law or the ANB Law. Instead, Montenegro must ensure sufficient human resources within its law enforcement agencies to meet operational requirements.
The EU delegation also highlighted civil society and union concerns regarding the proposed laws and stressed the importance of merit-based recruitment, procedural safeguards, and justified dismissals with full access to legal remedies.
Final benchmarks for Chapter 24 call for Montenegro to demonstrate effective border control, adequate investigative capacity for serious and organized crime, and the ability to combat money laundering.
The Commission said it would closely monitor the implementation of the laws to ensure ongoing compliance with EU legal standards, particularly in the area of data protection.