Slovak DPM: Montenegro progress acknowledged by all stakeholders dealing with European agenda

Podgorica, Montenegro (6 June 2012) – The partnership established between Montenegro and Slovakia is a strong incentive for Montenegro's EU and NATO bid, and has a positive impact on the overall reforms and better quality of life of its citizens, Slovakia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Robert Kalinak said at the meeting with Prime Minister Igor Lukšić in Podgorica on Tuesday.

He also welcomed the progress Montenegro has made in recent years, adding that it has been acknowledged by all the stakeholders dealing with the European agenda.

PM Lukšić thanked the Slovak Deputy Prime Minister for the country's continued assistance to Montenegro, in particular in terms of the soon opening of accession talks with the EU.

“The European Commission's positive report on Montenegro's track record and the soon opening of negotiation talks, are the impetus for further implementation of reforms and strenghtening institutional capacities,” he underlined.

The two officials agreed that the dynamic top-level meetings are a good basis for the collaboration in all areas, noting that good political relations and cooperation with regard to integration processes are also a good incentive for investors from both countries. 

At the meeting with his Montenegrin counterpart Duško Marković, the Slovak Deputy Prime Minister remarked that Slovakia has proven itself Montenegro's friend on its European and Euro-Atlantic integration path, and that the two countries’ cooporation will carry on to develop in all directions.

DPM Marković informed Mr Kalinak about the main reforms processes in strengthening the rule of law and fight against corruption and organised crime, with the aim of meeting objectives from the national and European agenda. The issue of corruption and organised crime in Montenegro and the region, the two officials agreed, is more a matter of perception than reality. However, they said, the states have to sustain efforts to strengthen mechanisms in tackling these challenges.

DPM Marković particularily stressed the good cooperation between the two justice ministries, which has been reflected through the training programmes organised for the representatives of the Montenegrin institutions in Bratislava. In that regard, he announced that singning of justice cooperation memorandum, which will provide a formal basis for the cooperation.