PODGORICA – Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations visited Montenegro on Thursday and will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina today. This is his second visit to Montenegro since 2014, when he was appointed to the office of European Commissioner.
Hahn visited Montenegro immediately after the formation of the new government, in a situation where complete opposition boycotts the National Assembly, because it does not recognize the result of the parliamentary elections, and at the time of the increased interest of Russia to the Balkans, especially in Montenegro, which is on the verge of membership in NATO.
Johannes Hahn said in Podgorica that for a candidate country, it is not a sustainable state if the entire opposition is not participating in parliamentary deliberation.
Han at a joint press conference with Montenegrin Prime Minister Duško Marković said that it is especially important to take into account the parties that have already expressed their commitment to the European perspective. Also, the parties in power have to find a way to persuade opposition parties to return to the Parliament.
“Montenegro has achieved a lot when it comes to European integration and was proven to be a reliable partner. Now it is necessary to overcome the situation in which the Montenegro is currently in, and I talked about it with representatives of the opposition. Parliament offers the opportunity to confront opinions and it is very important to reach a compromise and to maintain the EU course of Montenegro”, concluded Han
Today, Commissioner Hahn will be in Sarajevo to meet Denis Zvizdić, Chairman of the Council of Ministers as well as Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak. Following the membership application by BiH earlier this year and the green light the Council gave to the Commission to prepare the opinion on it, Commissioner Hahn is due to reiterate the commitment of the European Union to support the country’s EU perspective.