German Bundestag commends Montenegro’s accession efforts, pledges further support

Berlin, Germany (21 February 2013) – During his first official visit to Germany, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Igor Lukšić attended the session of the Bundestag’s European Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

The Committee's members commended Montenegro’s achievements in the accession process and pledged their full support for Montenegro's reform momentum aimed at meeting European standards. They stressed that Bundestag will support the Montenegrin efforts at further dynamic and intense stages of the integration process, adding that the implementation of the standards will affect the prosperity of the citizens of Montenegro.

Montenegro is the only country in the region which negotiates with the EU, DPM Lukšić underlined, adding that it will have an impact on the promotion of the EU enlargement policy and the European perspective of the Western Balkan.

The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that Montenegro opened and temporary closed one negotiation chapter and expressed appreciation for the new approach of the European Commission related to the opening and closing of the negotiation chapters 23 and 24. He said that the Government is focused on drafting the action plans for these two chapters and thanked the German Government for its willingness to provide support in this area.