Minister Pejović in Geneva: WTO membership significantly contributes to EU accession process

Minister of European Affairs Aleksandar Andrija Pejović participated today, on behalf of the Government of Montenegro, in the regular session of the Trade Policy Review Committee, which discussed the thirteenth review of the EU trade policies.

The EU delegation presented the economic results and plans for further development of trade policies and international trade cooperation to the 164 member states. Addressing members of the Committee, Minister Pejović pointed to the positive aspects of the reforms of the EU's single market and the development of the financial sector after the financial crisis, and welcomed new regulation which promotes transparency, identifies risks and ensures the stability of the market. He reiterated the commitment of the Government of Montenegro to the integration processes in the country and pointed out that this process is a precondition for inclusive economic growth. He emphasised that the active participation of Montenegro in the regular work of the WTO and negotiation processes contributes to the EU accession process, bearing in mind that a large number of negotiation chapters are covered by the themes of the WTO mandate, such as customs, public procurement, agriculture and rural development, fisheries, intellectual property rights and pointed to the progress Montenegro has made in these areas. The Minister congratulated the EU delegation for a constructive contribution to the work of the WTO and stressed that Montenegro, as a member of this multilateral trade organisation, will continue to support the current and new initiatives of the Union and the WTO member countries in order to reach successful results at the upcoming ministerial conference in Buenos Aires.

During his stay in Geneva, Minister Pejović met with Secretary General of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Kristinn Arnason, with whom he discussed the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Montenegro and the EFTA countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland as well as the upcoming activities on the review of trade policy between Montenegro and these four countries.

The Minister also gave lecture at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, organised by the Centre for Trade and Economic Integration. The topic of the lecture was "Integration of Montenegro into the EU and its relations with the WTO".