Bucharest: Montenegro’s progress in EU negotiations commended

Bucharest, Romania (18 February 2014) -- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Igor Lukšić participated earlier today at the informal meeting of foreign ministers of the South Eastern Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP), which took part in Bucharest as part of Romania’s SEECP chairmanship.

The meeting was attended by ministers from Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Moldova, deputy ministers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey. Special guests at the meeting were the foreign minister of Kosovo, Secretary General of the RCC, and representatives of the European Commission. The meeting focused on the current state of affairs in the region. The participants noted the need of finding a peaceful and constructive solution to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the view to ensuring the socio-economic recovery of the country and domestic and regional stability.

South Eastern European states’ high officials exchanged opinions on the region’s European perspective and the future of the enlargement process. Montenegro’s progress in the EU accession negotiations was commended, and especially the opening of Chapters 23 and 24. In the context of regional economic development, the participants emphasised the importance of the South Eastern Europe 2020 Strategy, which will contribute to competitiveness, more jobs, and investment.

Deputy Prime Minister Lukšić noted that the region’s lasting stability is a precondition for development. It should be a priority for all of us to contribute to the region’s positive image. In that regard, we want the Europe’s South East as a whole to become, through a regional action plan and good neighbourly cooperation, a relevant factor of European stability and a reliable partner in finding solutions to contemporary challenges, Mr Lukšić said.

Deputy Prime Minister Lukšić stated that full support needs to be given to new mechanisms of regional cooperation, noting in particular the SEE 2020 Strategy, with the view to speeding up the region’s European integration and economic development through priority infrastructure projects, removing business barriers, and fighting organised crime.

The participants exchanged ideas on how to improve the SEECP’s work. They reached a decision to initiate a reform process by establishing and ad-hoc working group to deal with concrete suggestions to improve regional dialogue within SEECP and the project-oriented cooperation. In that regard, strong political will was expressed to continue regional cooperation in the context of European and Euro-Atlantic cooperation.