PM Đukanović at EBRD annual meeting in Warsaw: Balkans needs radical reforms, EU and EBRD's attention

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Warsaw, Poland (14 May 2014) – On the second day of his visit to Poland, Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milo Đukanović took part in the Annual Political Meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Warsaw.

The Prime Minister, who atrended the conference as the only senior official of some of the Western Balkan's countries, spoke about economic and overall achievements and experiences in Montenegro and this part of Europe.

"Out of the Yugoslav least economically developed republic, we have created the most prosperous Balkan economy. We were on the brink of civil war, and nowadays, we have a politically stable country that has no outstanding issues with its neighbours. We have achieved this through our European vision, consistent implementation of the reforms and active promotion of regional cooperation," PM Đukanović stressed in Warsaw.

He said that the Montenegrin Government has recognised that further progress is possible only in a stable environment and that Montenegro is highly committed to regional cooperation and integration.

"In its long history, the Balkans has never been more stable and more European than it is today," Prime Minister Đukanović noted, adding that further progress of the Balkan's states is threatened by the economic crisis and the problems inherited from the 1990s . He voiced belief the Balkans can be economically the most dynamic part of the continent, and that vision requires "brave and even more radical reforms."

"However, in addition to individual and joint regional efforts, we need more attention to be paid on us by the EU and the multilateral financial institutions such as the EBRD. Otherwise, we can not count on serious economic development, " Montenegro’s Prime Minister pointed out.

The EBRD meeting in Warsaw was also attended by prime ministers of Poland, Moldova and the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as by European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle.