Later on euroisation however was acknowledged by the European Commission through a specific approach, which takes into account euroization happened due to “extraordinary circumstances” present in the country at the moment of introducing the euro. As a result of that, Montengro still continue to use the euro currency as its legal tender and hopes to join the European Union as soon as possible. Central Bank of Montenegro officials have indicated on several occasions that the European institutions expect Montenegro to adhere very strictly to ERM rules, as a part of the accession procedures to the European Union. In 2009 Nikola Fabris, chief economist of the Central Bank of Montenegro, has said that the situation was different when they adopted the euro, and that other states which on a later stage also had been considering unilaterally adopting the euro, such as Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, would have faced sanctions from the EU and would have their accession process suspended if they would have gone ahead. The dispute regarding the use of the euro was expected to be resolved by analysts during the accession negotiations. Diplomats indicated that it is unlikely that Montenegro will be forced to stop the circulation of the euro in their country. In 2013 Radoje Zugi, the finance minister of Montenegro, said that "it would be economically irrational to return to a currency of your own, only to be back in the euro later". Instead, he hopes that Montenegro will be allowed to keep the euro, and he promised "that the government of Montenegro will meet some important conditions to keep the euro, such as fiscal compliance". In 2007 Montenegro signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union, then submitted its application for membership in December 2008 and finally obtained the status of official candidate in 2010. In 2012, Montenegro became the first country from the current six Western Balkan states to start accession negotiations with the EU and to date, according to many officials, it is a frontrunner on the path towards the EU membership. As a part of the ongoing negotiations, the EU will have to deal with this unprecedented case in which a state, already using the common currency without implementing all the mandatory economic conditions, is striving to join the EU and the Eurozone. These conditions (convergence criteria) are set out in Article 140 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in order to ensure that a certain country is ready for integration into the monetary regime of the euro area. There are 4 economic convergence criteria:    Additionally to that, to join the euro area candidates must also ensure that their national laws and rules provide for the independence of their national central banks, and that their statutes are in compliance with the provisions of the treaties and compatible with the statutes of the European Central Bank and the European System of Central Banks.