PODGORICA – The Government of Montenegro, determined to close all negotiating chapters in the EU accession process by the end of the year, branded the airplane of the national flag carrier AIR Montenegro with a clear slogan: “28 by 28 – The Next EU Member” (Montenegro – the Next EU Member). The aim of the campaign is to convey to the international public the message that Montenegro will become a member of the European Union by 2028.
The branding of the aircraft is part of a series of activities that will be implemented in cooperation with institutions, businesses, artists, scientists and athletes in the coming period, so that, in addition to the domestic, the European public will be informed about the results achieved by Montenegro in the EU integration process and the ambition of gaining the EU full membership by 2028.
On 25 February, the branded aircraft was welcomed at Podgorica airport by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, Deputy Prime Minister Filip Ivanović, Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević and other officials.
The Prime Minister said that “the message on the plane of our national airline Air Montenegro is not symbolic, but a strategic statement of the state”.
“We bring Europe to Montenegro, and we bring Montenegro to Europe! Throughout the European Union, our national airline carries a message: Montenegro is the next member of the European Union. Montenegro knows what Europe has to offer-not only a magical coast and magnificent mountains, but also proof that it is possible to be small and be a home for everyone. It also offers stability, new energy and confirmation that we can be united in diversity, which is the motto of the EU”, Spajić remarked.
Minister Maida Gorčević pointed out that “numerous generations had been promised the European Union as an idea, and that Montenegro has now set that goal as ambitious, but achievable”.
“It shows where Montenegro belongs. It is time for all our institutions, businesses, athletes, scientists, artists, students, media, civil sector, local communities and diaspora to convey the same message across the European Union – 28 by 2028. We have taken responsibility for difficult decisions to make plans, strategies and programs a reality for our citizens. Montenegro is European in its history and culture, and its membership will confirm this through its full commitment to the value framework on which modern Europe rests”, Gorčević noted.
