Government successfully implements Action Plan for meeting EU membership criteria

Podgorica, Montenegro (29 July 2011) – The Government of Montenegro has succeeded in fulfilling all the commitments set out in the Action Plan for meeting EU recommendations in the legislative, strategic and analytic aspects in which the European Commission is particularly interested, State Secretary for European Integration Slavica Milačić told the press following the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Commenting on the adoption of the Fifth monthly report on the implementation of the Action Plan, she remarked that, in the period between the two reports, a number of laws concerning judicial reform, rule of law and anti-corruption measures had been adopted, adding that the most challenging task remains the adoption of election legislation in the Parliament.

The Government adopted, State Secretary Milačić continued, the Strategy for resolving the issues of refugees and internally displaced persons which had been drafted in collaboration with the Office of UN High Commissariat for Refugees and EU Delegation in Podgorica.

The Government also adopted the Decision on establishing the Council for protection from discrimination with the aim of providing more efficient coordination of the activities in this regard and promoting it as one of the essential human rights.

The State Secretary praised the broad domestic consensus regarding European integration and the NGOs’ contribution in drafting legislation, the transparency of the overall process and the open and high quality continued dialogue with Brussels in Montenegro’s endeavours to meet EU accession targets.