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PM Marković at WB6 informal meeting in Durres: The...
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PM Marković at WB6 informal meeting in Durres: There is no agreement on new obligations until those already taken are fulfilled
Published on: Aug 27, 2018 • 8:43 PM Author: PR Service
Durres, Albania (27 August 2018) -- Prime Minister Duško Marković told the informal meeting of the Prime Ministers of the Western Balkans in Durres that Montenegro welcomes the agreement between Macedonia and Greece, as well as the dialogue between Pristine and Belgrade, but that he believes that the focus should also be placed on economic issues, in particular on the fulfilment of obligations already taken at the summits in Trieste and London.
"This year, great things have happened for the entire region of the Western Balkans. The new European Commission's strategy for enlargement is a trigger for all of us in the right direction. This strategy gives a clear perspective to the region. But in order for this perspective to be certain, we must do our best to reach all the benefits arising from the strategy and our national integration policies," the Prime Minister stressed.
"Great event is the agreement between Macedonia and Greece. We must very firmly support the dialogue between Pristine and Belgrade and we believe in this agreement and that is not only for the benefit of Serbia and Kosovo, but also of the entire region," said Prime Minister Duško Marković, adding that he believes the main topic of today's informal meeting of prime ministers should be economy and cooperation in already undertaken obligations.
"Today we need to talk about what we have agreed to do and to find out what we have accomplished to date. And we need to determine whether we have the ability to follow our commitments," said the Prime Minister.
"Montenegro's position is that, when it comes to the Enlargement Strategy and the Berlin Process, we need to concentrate on the issues implied in the European Commission's strategy and that are complementary with the Berlin Process. We should go towards the establishing of a guarantee fund as proposed by the European Union and to start activities to support beginners in business for easier financing of small and medium-sized enterprises," the Prime Minister of Montenegro underscored.
Prime Minister Duško Marković particularly stressed the need to retain young people in the countries of the region, that is, to prevent the so-called "brain drain.”
"We must do everything to retain young people in the region and to create conditions for those who have left to return. And that means we need to invest more in research and development. I take the opportunity to remind you that Montenegro stands firmly behind its initiative towards the establishment of the International Institute for Sustainable Technologies in Southeast Europe, because we believe that this initiative can be valuable for the entire region, for young people, for new jobs, for connecting the economy and science - and that is what we lack," said Prime Minister Marković.
He concluded by saying that Montenegro's position is not to open talks on new obligations until those already taken over are fulfilled.
"The level of trust in the region is significantly higher, the prime ministers send clear messages and signals in which direction we should go and work together, but we have to fulfil the obligations we have taken and signed. This should not be a game of paper and documents, but responsibilities for the obligations we have taken," said Prime Minister Marković. He added that these are obligations that have already been complied with the European Union.
"I am not inclined to accept, or even speak about new initiatives until we fulfil the obligations we have accepted," said Prime Minister Marković.
The meeting in Durres was attended by EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn and President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Suma Chakrabarti.
PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO
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