within current structures, limiting its preventive role. This will also be an early test for the new director. The Special State Prosecutor’s Office has increasingly relied on encrypted communications from the SKY ECC platform as evidence in cases of organised crime and high­level corruption. While this has strengthened investigative capacity, challenges remain regarding admissibility in court and converting intelligence into convictions. A significant share of such material is also leaked to the media, which may negatively affect proceedings. High-level corruption cases are often characterised by widely publicised details from initial investigations, followed by delays and weak judicial outcomes. In addition, the police remain highly politicised, a trend further reinforced by recent amendments to the Law on Internal Affairs. These changes, widely criticised by civil society and the opposition, significantly expand ministerial powers while weakening procedural safeguards for police officers. The broadly and vaguely defined grounds for disciplinary measures and dismissal create significant scope for arbitrary application and potential misuse. Furthermore, the amendments were adopted without meaningful public consultation, undermining transparency and the inclusion of professional expertise. The EC has emphasised the need for robust safeguards against undue political influence in police recruitment and disciplinary procedures, although this was not strongly enforced in a way that would prevent such legislative outcomes. Also, recent developments further reinforce concerns that the current legal framework could be used for politically motivated restructuring of the police service. These systemic weaknesses contribute to persistently low public trust in the judiciary and anti-corruption institutions, driven by perceptions of inequality before the law and the perceived protection of those in power and those close to them. EU Integration Without Substantive Transformation Montenegro has achieved a certain degree of formal alignment with EU legal standards and developed a comprehensive legislative and institutional framework for the rule of law. However, a persistent gap remains between formal compliance and substantive results. While political commitment to EU integration is regularly reaffirmed, it increasingly clashes with deep structural weaknesses in the judiciary and broader institutions, as well as the influence of veto players within the ruling majority, which often slows or blocks reforms. At the same time, public support for EU integration has shown a notable decline, falling from 83% in 2025 to 69%, a drop of 14%. The role of civil society remains constrained, with visible attempts of authorities to marginalise it due to its critical stance. At its core, the rule of law represents both the central condition and the most fragile component of the accession process. Despite formal alignment, implementation is uneven and often reduced to procedural compliance rather than genuine institutional transformation. The judiciary most clearly reflects this disconnect. Despite nearly 25 years of reform, including constitutional changes and institutional restructuring, fundamental challenges persist in independence, efficiency, and public trust. The system continues to be vulnerable to political influence in appointments, alongside institutional blockages, prolonged proceedings, inconsistent jurisprudence, weak accountability mechanisms, weak enforcement of judgments, episodes of institutional paralysis, and a high rate of violations found by the European Court of Human Rights. In recent years, there has also been a growing “medialisation” of justice, characterised by highly publicised arrests and intensive media coverage, often involving former office holders, which risks influencing proceedings and undermining the presumption of innocence, while final convictions remain relatively rare. Furthermore, anti-corruption efforts continue to produce limited results in high-level cases, with a notable absence of proceedings involving current office holders, while reforms remain fragmented and strongly shaped by political dynamics. Although the 2020 EU accession methodology placed the rule of law at the centre of the process, progress remains uneven and fragile. Positive developments, including the 2024 IBAR, should be interpreted primarily as procedural milestones rather than indicators of deep structural change. Overall, the accession process of Montenegro is characterised by formal progress that often outpaces substantive change, raising concerns that EU integration risks becoming a technical exercise rather than a driver of genuine and sustainable transformation. About the author Daliborka Uljarevic is a political scientist and Executive Director of the Centre for Civic Education(CCE/CGO) in Podgorica, Montenegro. Montenegro as a Frontrunner Without a Functioning Rule of Law 4