Dirk Lange speaks about Montenegro's European accession at EU-Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee

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Podgorica, Montenegro (26 March 2014) -- From a technical point of view, the accession talks between Montenegro and the EU are progressing well, and it is absolutely crucial the process does not take place in a political vacuum, Dirk Lange, Head of Unit for Montenegro within the European Commission’s DG for Enlargement, underscored Tuesday in Podgorica.

Speaking at the meeting of the EU - Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee, he commended the recent adoption of key legislation on election of councillors and members of parliament, which proper implementation, along with the amended electoral package of 17 February, is envisaged to increase public trust in the process. This will be first tested at the local elections scheduled for 25 May. The Commission will monitor if all the OSCE’S recommendations are taken into consideration, as part of the overall assessment of meeting the benchmarks for the chapter 23, Mr Lange stressed.

He also noted that strengthening medial freedom and freedom of speech is also a key element of the negotiating process. The recent attacks on journalists and media property are giving cause for concern, he noted, as well as the lack of progress in investigating earlier cases and punishing the perpetrators.

In that regard, the setting up of a commission for monitoring investigations into attacks on journalists is a positive step, but the Commission wishes to see measurable results in terms of investigating, prosecuting and convicting the perpetrators, Mr Lange emphasised.

The Montenegro - EU intergovernmental conference, scheduled for 21 March in Brussels, is expected to open two more chapters, Mr Lange stated. However, the focus should not be placed only on opening new chapters, he added, as it is not “the best and most comprehensive indicator” of the negotiations‘ progress.

“We also need to look into difficult chapters where the opening benchmarks have been set, chapters like competition policy, agriculture, food safety, fisheries, environment,” Dirk Lange of the European Commission explained, highlighting that Montenegro needs to develop a track record in these areas, thus enabling their opening in the time to come.

With regards to economy, he mentioned that priorities such as competitiveness of certain sectors, functioning of the public administration, business environment and active labour market that should take central stage in enhancing economic dialogue, which was proposed by the European Commission in 2013.

The Head of the Unit for Montenegro within the European Commission’s DG for Enlargement concluded by saying that reforms should not be based solely on good documents and action plans, but that they have to be fully implemented and meet the deadlines.

“Only with this, people in Montenegro can actually see that the accession process leads to results," he pointed out.