Political will to strengthen the rule of law to be showed by meeting standards in chapters 23 and 24

Today's session of the Rule of Law Council, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Duško Marković, discussed the implementation of obligations arising from the action plans for negotiating chapters 23 and 24, focusing on meeting temporary standards in these areas.

Significant work on improving legislation, particularly in the areas of justice and corruption, has been done, the meeting concluded, thus testifying that Montenegro made rule of law-related issues its strategic priorities and voiced commitment to responding to complex European agenda.

In order to achieve progress towards EU membership and make continuous development of the Montenegrin society, the Council stressed that all efforts will be concentrated on implementating the regulation that have alreadz been adopted. In this regard, it highlighted the need to further strengthen administrative capacity of all institutions and boost inter-institutional cooperation with a view to advancing conditions for undertaking effective action and achieving concrete results.

The Council’s members addressed the current activities and future plans of all institutions in meeting temporary standards in the field of rule of law, stating it is a key obligation and common task and challenge not only for the negotiating structure, but also for the society as a whole.

"In the coming period, we expect to meet all temporary benchmarks concering chapters 23 and 24, which will show our readiness to implement our commitments, but also our political will to strengthen the rule of law," said Deputy Prime Minister Duško Marković.

Chief Negotiator Aleksandar Andrija Pejovic noted that the session of the Council is being held at the right time, keeping in mind the obligation of preparing a six-month report on the implementation of the action plans for chapters 23 and 24, as well as the holding of the regular annual meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council, at which the progress that had been made in the rule of law will be discussed. In this context, he reiterated the need to invest extensive efforts in more efficient implementation of the accession commitments.

"We have defined deadlines during the documents adaptation on our own. At this point, it is especially important to respect the dynamics of establishing the Special Prosecutor's Office, the Special Police Department and Anti-Corruption Agency. The European Commission and EU member states are paying particular attention to the achievements in this field, " Mr Pejović concluded.