Last week the ambassadors of the 27 EU member states, acting through the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), approved the establishment of an ad‑hoc working group to start drafting Montenegro ’s Accession Treaty, marking the first such step since Croatia’s treaty was prepared more than a decade ago. The decision was immediately hailed as a “ historic moment ” by Montenegrin Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević, who called it “ the final step on the path to full membership