NATO Secretary General: Rule of law, security sector reform - Montenegro's priorities on its path towards membership

Podgorica, Montenegro (22 May 2014) -- At a meeting with Montenegro’s Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Duško Marković in Podgorica on Wednesday evening, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the organisation appreciates all the efforts Montenegro has invested in meeting the accession criteria, reiterating that the rule of law and security sector reform have to remain Montenegro's priorities on its path towards the NATO membership. He also welcomed the successful implementation of the Fourth Annual National Programme under the Membership Action Plan (MAP).

Deputy Prime Minister Marković informed the NATO Secretary General about Montenegro’s achievements in the judiciary reform and fight against organised crime and corruption, both at the legislative and institutional levels.

The meeting put particular emphasis on the reform of the security and intelligence sectors. In that regard, DPM Marković spoke about the procedures for adopting the Law on the basic principles of intelligence and security sector in Montenegro, that is, the implementation of the reform action plan for in this area. The two commended the pace of the strategic documents' implementation and highlighted their significance for building intelligence and security sector in Montenegro in line with the NATO standards.

Stressing the importance of the NATO foreign ministers meeting scheduled for June 2014 , which will discuss the report on Montenegro’s progress, the NATO Secretary-General noted that NATO member states, when it comes to Montenegro’s Euro-Atlantic integration, will be focused on building independent judiciary and compliance with NATO’s security standards.

Deputy Prime Minister Duško Marković voiced optimism on the eve of the NATO summit in Wales, and stressed that Montenegro remains highly committed to Euro-Atlantic accession and that, regardless of the outcome of the summit, it will continue to pursue reforms in order to achieve its strategic objectives.