Montenegro’s PM Lukšić addresses Croatia Summit, invites regional cooperation in state building and EU integration

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Podgorica, Montenegro (8 July 2012) Prime Minister Igor Lukšić gave a speech on Friday at the “Croatia Summit 2012 – State Building and the EU Experience” in Dubrovnik where he underlined that a good government should be a “government of the people and for the people, transparent and accessible” and noted that cooperation of the Balkan states is a key to their individual wellbeing and to their shared goal of EU integration.

In his speech, PM Lukšić underlined the importance of a developed citizen-government communication and fight against corruption: “People should feel safe in their encounters with the government, which can be achieved through the efforts to eradicate corruption among public officials.” In the same fashion he concluded that “further legal security and making institutions more trust-worthy will result primarily in the greater wellbeing of our citizens.”

The PM underlined that Montenegro “promotes coexistence, mutual respect, and values knowledge and ideas,” adding that the Government has initiated the setting up of an e-Petition platform that would enable “full participation of citizens in the formulation of public policies.”

On one of the main topics of the summit, PM Lukšić stressed that state building involves improvement in the effectiveness of administration assuming that tasks are executed with the smallest amount of resources necessary to achieve maximum satisfaction of the citizens’ needs.

In explaining that the EU integration will be beneficial both for the Balkan states and the European Union, PM Lukšić noted that “in a relatively short period of time we will all have similar skills and be ‘good’ future members of the EU. And with our specificities we will enrich the European area.”

He underlined that the Balkan states must work together towards these goals in order to secure their success: “European story of the Western Balkans can only be successful in a united effort, which is why sound competition among states of this Region is the driving force of our common goal.”

Croatia Summit 2012 is the seventh international conference of prime ministers and foreign ministers, as well as guests from across Europe, North America and Mediterranean countries, organised by the Government of Croatia in Dubrovnik from 6-7 July 2012.