PM Marković meets with CoE leaders: Decade of successful partnership

Prime Minister Duško Marković and the highest officials of the Council of Europe assessed today in Strasbourg that Montenegro has achieved excellent results and enviable success in the past ten years of its membership in this organisation, adding that this is a decade of successful partnership between Montenegro and the Council. At the Prime Minister's meetings with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland, Chairman of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Antonio Gutiérrez and President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Gudrun Mosler-Törnström, it was said that all successes made during the ten-year membership Montenegro shares with its partners, that it seriously accepts all recommendations of the Council of Europe in post-monitoring period, and that Montenegro and this organisation share the concern about the challenges in Europe and the Western Balkans.

Informing his interlocutors about the situation in Montenegro, PM Marković emphasised the fact that the ruling coalition in Montenegro has no dilemma regarding the future, it firmly believes that the European Union is the best choice for Montenegro.

The Prime Minister reiterated that Montenegro expects to end the negotiations on EU accession in five years.

"We are now entering the second phase – the phase of closing negotiating chapters. We are ready to complete the membership negotiations in five years, and we believe that the European Union is ready for it too," PM Marković said to the General Secretary of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland.

The Prime Minister briefed the Secretary General on the economic and political situation in Montenegro, saying that the achieved economic results have eliminated concern he had at the beginning of the term, which is confirmed by the current economic growth of 3.2%.

The opposition's decision to boycott the Parliament, using last year's parliamentary election as an excuse, Prime Minister Marković rated as irrational, and concluded that the real goal of the opposition is to compromise institutions and system.

"Despite this, the Government and the ruling coalition are stable," PM Markovic said, reiterating that he even offered the opposition to join the Government and that the Government and the ruling coalition would further pull proactive moves.

"I want to convince you that our interest is not to cement this situation. There will be various initiatives both by the Government and by the ruling majority, but there will be no consent to ultimatums," the Prime Minister said.

PM Marković informed the Secretary General about the Montenegrin media scene, saying that there is a clear lack of professional standards. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe said that this was a general picture in the Balkans.

SG Jagland expressed satisfaction with the results achieved by Montenegro, stressing the need to continue reforms, especially in the rule of law.

At the PM's meeting with the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the official exchanged views on the local government in Montenegro, in which is the Congress especially interested. The Prime Minister informed President Mosler-Törnström about the problem of sustainability of certain local governments, but stressed that the Ministry of Public Administration has a special Directorate whose jurisdiction is local government.

The officials also exchanged views on the situation in the Western Balkans. Prime Minister Marković said that after a previous period of tensions, some political events in Europe and in our region have been optimistic, but emphasised that Russia's interest in destabilising the region and jeopardising its European and Euro-Atlantic perspective should not be ignored.

The Prime Minister invited the leaders of the Council of Europe to visit Montenegro.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO