Netherlands will continue supporting Montenegro’s European path

The Netherlands will continue supporting the European path of Montenegro, which has made some notable progress in this process, Chief Negotiator Aleksandar Andrija Pejović was told by the officials he has met in The Hague.

Ambassador Pejović held meetings with Robert de Groot, Director-General for European Cooperation at the Foreign Ministry, and Victor Cramer, head of unit for European affairs at the Finance Ministry. Mr Pejović presented to his interlocutors the current developments in the negotiation process, key reforms in the rule of law area, as well as the negotiation team’s activities related to opening the chapters on finance. He also underlined existing challenges in certain areas where he noted Dutch expert assistance could provide immensely useful.

Having in mind the Netherlands’ long experience in European affairs, being one of the European Union founders, and especially in the area of applying democratic principles and reaching European standards in the rule of law area, Ambassador Pejović noted that Montenegro is interested in establishing exchange of experience activities between the two administrations through bilateral and EU programmes.

The Dutch hosts commended the dynamics and quality of implemented reforms, owing to which, as they noted, Montenegro boasts notable progress on its way towards EU membership. They underlined that the Netherlands will continue monitoring the European integration process and will continue providing support aimed at implementing European standards, with a special emphasis on the rule of law area and preparations for accession to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) since the moment of accession.