PM Đukanović speaks at NATO PA session in Tirana: I believe that NATO allies will ratify accession protocol without delay

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Tirana, Albania (30 May 2016) – “I believe that NATO allies recognise our commitment and responsibility, and that they will ratify the Accession Protocol without delay. This will enable Montenegro to become a full-fledged member of NATO next year. Your role in this process is of paramount importance. That is why I take the opportunity to ask you in your national parliaments to be initiators of the ratification process as quickly as possible,” Prime Minister of Montenegro Milo Đukanović noted earlier today at the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which took place in Tirana.

The signing of the accession protocol earlier this month in Brussels is of high significance for Montenegro, the Western Balkans region, but also for NATO, he underscored.

"Montenegro has been given the opportunity to participate in all meetings of the Alliance,  and to be part of dialogue on the most critical political and security issues. We believe that our active engagement in the region,and beyond can contribute to boosting security in Europe and Mediterranean. At the time when the world faces many security challenges, not only in Europe and the Middle East, membership in NATO provides the required security. In our case, it guarantees that we will be able to manage our future and ensure that many unpleasant episodes of our recent past will not be repeated. That is why, NATO invitation has been one of the most important successes Montenegro has achieved in the past decade,” said PM Đukanović, pointing out that integration into Euro-Atlantic structures is inseparable from accession to the EU.

It is very important that the NATO PA is open to countries that cooperate closely with the Alliance, thus strengthening confidence and understanding of security issues of mutual importance, the Prime Minister underlined.

"Montenegro helds NATO Parliamentary Assembly in considerable respect. It is this forum sixteen years ago that opened its doors to Montenegro at the session in Berlin on 28 November 2000. This was an opportunity to inform parliamentarians from NATO countries that Montenegro, which was then formally part of Milosević's Yugoslavia, sees itself as part of developed Europe, not an episodic character in toppling his regime," he explained.

The Prime Minister stresses that we are proud of the fact that Montenegro was the only republic in which there were no wars and destruction during the breakup of Yugoslavia and that peace and multiethnic harmony were preserved in the most difficult times. These achievements helped the independent state of Montenegro be recognised as a catalyst of good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation and integration, he underlined.

"The membership of Montenegro in NATO will further strengthen stability of the region and the whole Europe. In political terms, Montenegro’s progress clearly shows that the Alliance's doors are open to membership aspiring countries, which is the notion Montenegro will advocate as a future member. This is the best and most compelling answer to retrograde forces in the region and beyond. However, the political forces that want to stop the integration process are not fully defeated. On the contrary, motivated by security, economic and other challenges the Euro-Atlantic space is facing, they become even more active. This fact cannot be ignored,” the Prime Minister stated in Tirana.

He said that Montenegro is already acting as a member of the Alliance, having in mind its long-term contribution to the security of Afghanistan, and other peacekeeping missions, its activities within the Global Coalition for Combating DAESH or sharing views and policies of NATO and the EU when it comes to the crisis in Ukraine. Once it becomes a full member, it will continue to make contributions to global security, PM Đukanović concluded.