BRUSSELS – State Secretary for European Integration and chief negotiator, Ambassador Aleksandar Andrija Pejovic, hold a presentation today in Brussels infront of the members of the Working Group for the Western Balkans in the European Parliament which is chaired by Eduard Kukan.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the European People’s Party, Eduard Kukan and Cristian Dan Preda, member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Knut Fleckenstein and Charles Tannock, a representative of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, as well as Ulrike Lunacek from the Greens.
Ambassador Pejovic addressed current and future activities of Montenegrin institutions which are aimed at opening the negotiations on the remaining 11 chapters as well as on the temporary closing of the already opened 20 chapters. He emphasized the efforts that have been made to maintain a good pace of progress in implementing reforms in the field of rule of law. Furthmore, he provided information about the achievements and future plans in the fields of judiciary, fight against corruption, fundamental rights and the fight against organized crime.
The basic implementation of comprehensive reforms suggests that Montenegro is illustrating great commitment towards future EU membership, the EU representatives assessed. They welcomed the current efforts and results and communicated to keep up the pace in the future.They especially stressed the importance of continued commitment to the European integration process, with an emphasis on full implementation of the election legislation.
During the presentation, Charles Tannock positively commented on the overall progress of Montenegro, which is also recognized in the draft of this year’s EP resolution.
EU representative Lunacek has expressed interest in the overview of the situation and dynamics that Montenegro will demonstrate in the acquis chapter concerning environmental issues and within this context, the European Parliament expressed its support for further work on the opening of this chapter.
Chairman Kukan emphasized the fact that Montenegro is a leader in the integration process of the Western Balkans and that it enjoys full support of European parliamentarians, while deputy Preda pointed to the importance of maintaining positive trends in integration and the significance of achieving results in the field of rule of law.