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EU-Montengro Intergovernmental Conference: Rule of law must remain a priority

Photo: EU

BRUSSELS – The intergovernmental conference sends a clear message of political will for Montenegro to become an EU member, stated Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić, following te meeting with the EU delegation in Brussels. The 15th intergovernmental conference between Montenegro and the EU held on Monday in Brussels.

“The exceptional results of the 44th Government and Parliament have reinvigorated the integration process, and the current geopolitical situation has presented a new opportunity to accelerate the accession process. Therefore, it was emphasized during the meeting that now is the time to continue reforms to seize the right moment for the EU path,” the Government statement highlights.

The Cabinet of Spajić added that during the conference, “special emphasis was placed on appointments in the judiciary, which, after several years, enabled the continuation of meeting the criteria in chapters 23 and 24.” “After a long pause, significant progress has been made towards fulfilling the interim measures in these chapters.

It was emphasized that work on strengthening the rule of law must remain a priority while maintaining political stability, which has enabled the adoption of numerous long-awaited decisions. It was also noted that 100% alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy is a strong signal of commitment to European values and principles,” the statement said.

European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said that today it was seen that the enlargement of the European Union (EU) is a real project and that the government in Montenegro has shown results in a short period.

“Because this is the clear commitment – I think – we have heard today. But this is a clear commitment that we have been listening to from the birth of this political coalition, and political construction, if you will, bringing Montenegro forward on its EU path. So, I think what we heard today was more of a common to-do-list of what needs doing to make enlargement happen”, Varhelyi said. He added that the EU needs to see rule of law area prioritised.

“First and foremost, I think we have agreed that we need an acceleration in the fundamentals area. Basically rule of law: chapter 23, chapter 24. Meaning that, we would need to see this area prioritised so that we can come to the next phase of the accession negotiations, which is the final phase, if you will, when we are starting to close the chapters, meaning where we can start to come to agreements leading to accession”, Varhelyi added.

Spajić held a bilateral meeting with the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. Borrell welcomed the Prime Minister’s commitment to delivering on EU accession-related reforms and reiterated the EU’s support to the country in this regard.

He also underlined the importance of meeting the interim benchmarks of Chapters 23 and 24, as no further chapters will be provisionally closed before this milestone is reached, and encouraged the PM to continue the government’s work in this regard.

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