European Council's President Van Rompuy in a first official visit to Montenegro

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy officially visited Montenegro for the first time on October 19. He met with Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic for talks on cooperation, reforms in Montenegro, the forthcoming European Commission opinion on Montenegro, EU membership and regional matters.

President Van Rompuy's second visit to the region begins in Montenegro, which is important both symbolically and because it is taking place at an important moment for Montenegro's European and Euro-Atlantic integration, said Prime Minister Djukanovic at the press release after the meeting.

The Prime Minister mentioned that they had a detailed exchange of opinions on the position of Montenegro and other countries of the region in their EU integration processes. He also noted that the meeting was a great opportunity for the exchange of views on future cooperation, with the objective of attaining common goals: united, prosperous and globally competitive Europe. The Prime Minister said these common goals are a common European interest led by the EU, but which requires the participation of all, the Western Balkans region included.
The Prime Minister informed the Council President on what Montenegro has done since independence to improve lives of citizens, and what the next steps are that would lead to final goals: even better lives of citizens and EU and NATO membership.

Montenegro expects a positive opinion of the European Commission early November, which will hopefully be verified at the European Summit in December, said Prime Minister Djukanovic, adding that Montenegro has had intensive contacts with the European Commission officials in the last several days. Based on what Montenegro has done in the past up to this moment, the Prime Minister said he had every reason to be optimistic regarding the expectations from the European Commission opinion.

He thanked President Van Rompuy for his devotion to the prosperity of Europe, the enlargement policy in accordance with the Lisbon Treaty, and integration of the Western Balkans.