Following Montenegro's application for membership submitted on 15 December 2008, the Council invited the European Commission to submit its Opinion on the application, as foreseen by Article 49 of the Treaty on the European Union. The Commission's Opinion will be submitted to the Council in the course of 2010.
The Opinion is a comprehensive analysis of a country's capacity to meet the criteria for membership of the European Union. On the basis of the Opinion the Council will decide whether and when to proceed to the next stages of the accession process.