Benedejčić: Montenegro should continue with a good work

Montenegro has made an incredible progress and should continue with a good work, said the Slovenian Ambassador in NATO, Andrej Benedejčić, assessing that the decision, made at the meeting of ministers of the Alliance member states, is a great success.

He believes that the decision on the opening of intensive and focused talks with Montenegro, with aim of becoming full-member NATO state, represents a great success for both diplomacy and authorities.

“It means that, if allies would be satisfied with the achieved progress of Montenegro until the end of the following year, you will get the invitation. In other words, the decision means that Montenegro has, actually, got a qualified invitation”, Benedejčić told the MINA Agency.

He said that it was always good to have higher goals, and, at the same time, it was also important to avoid defining of partially achieved success as a failure.
“Montenegrin authorities should be proud of things realized after only four years in the NATO Membership Action Plan”, added Benedejčić.

Commenting media statements that the United States of America, France and Germany opposed to the invitation of Montenegro in the Alliance this year, he reminded that decisions in the NATO are reached by consensus.
“It means that each member of the Alliance has to agree with the activities which will be undertaken. Without going deep into stands of some countries, it is enough to say that a recent discussion on the policy of open doors was vivid and long and that all allies took part in it – great and small, old and new ones”, said Benedejčić.

He said that the Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as his numerous colleagues, had strongly supported invitation of Montenegro at the summit in Wales.

“However, there were also some who hold a view that, although Montenegro has made a great progress, it would take some additional time for it to become deep-rooted. Some of them also believed that, in regard of resolving the issue of Montenegrin candidacy, the allies should balance their answer, taking into account expectations of some other aspiring countries”, stated Benedejčić.

He added that the final decision, therefore, represented a compromise. “They who wish to be sure about the progress of Montenegro have got additional time, and those who wish to see Montenegro in the Alliance as soon as it is possible, have got a precise time framework”.

According to him, the NATO member countries have recognized and welcomed reforms undertaken so far in the filed of security. “Among the allies a predominant feeling is that Montenegro can fulfill the remaining expectations in the filed till the end of the next year, along with their assistance”.

“As it deals with rule of law, it is an important issue, especially in the context of plans of Montenegro to join the European Union. Slovenia, as other NATO member states, is convinced that Montenegro will continue to make progress in that field in the context of accession negotiations”, said Benedejčić.

As he said, the NATO is not only political and military organization, it is also an intelligence organization. “In other words, the allies regularly exchange sensitive information, while the specialized NATO bodies gather it for the needs of the North-Atlantic Council”.
“It is why it is important that the security sector of a new ally would be compatible with the security sector of other allies. It means that necessary procedures must be put in its place, in civilian and military services, in order to secure a necessary level of trust”, explained he.

Benedejčić said that the countries were being faced with different challenges on their way to  the NATO membership, and in case of Slovenia the main issues were defense reforms and the level of defense expenditures.
“Thus, I would counsel Montenegro and its authorities to continue with a good work. You have made an incredible progress so far and you have a great number of friends in the Alliance”, said he.

It is the reason why it is a pleasure to work with Montenegrin representatives in Brussels, as well as in Podgorica. “So, I can already say that each of us, on the Slovenian side, would miss a lot the NATO contact role for Montenegro, we had it during past four years”.