Bucharest: Enlargement policy important for further economic development and security of region, Europe

Bucharest, Romania (1 February 2019) -- Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro Srđan Darmanović took part in an informal meeting of foreign ministers (Gymnich) in Bucharest, at the invitation of High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania Teodor Melescanu.

Minister Darmanović congratulated Romania on the first presidency over the Council of the EU, and welcomed the defined priorities of its six-month programme. He also expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the policy of enlargement was high on the agenda of the presidency, hopeful that the integration process, based on the principle of regatta, significantly stimulated the reform of our societies and further economic development of the region, while strengthening the security, peace and competitiveness of Europe.

The Montenegrin Foreign Minister said he expects that the remaining negotiation chapter 8 (Competitiveness) will be opened during this year, as well as that Montenegro will meet the provisional benchmarks in chapters 23 and 24. He also reiterated the full commitment of rthe Montenegrin institutions to achieving internal readiness to close a set of chapters.

The meeting in Bucharest exchanged views on cooperation with China, focusing on issues of relevance to the EU and candidate countries.

The informal meeting, attended by foreign ministers of EU candidate countries and Turkey, as well as representatives of the European Commission, was an opportunity to consider other current issues and challenges within the Union.