The Hague: Montenegro is strongly committed to joining EU

Montenegro has shown strong commitment in implementing the reforms and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is ready to provide all necessary support in continuing the EU accession process, it was noted during official visit of the Montenegrin delegation to The Hague.

The Montenegrin delegation, led by Chief Negotiator Aleksandar Drljević, had several meetings in The Hague in order to present the latest results in the field of fighting corruption and organized crime.

Members of the delegation, consisting of member of the Negotiating Group for Chapters 23 and 24 Marijana Laković, Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić, Assistant Director of the Police Directorate for Criminal Police Sector Enis Baković and Assistant Director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption Savo Milašinović met with the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice in The Hague.

"Consistent application of European standards in the area of protection and promotion of citizens' freedoms, rights and security, as well as continuous progress in legislative reform and institution building, as well as achieved results in the field of fight against corruption and organized crime, money laundering and temporary seizure of property are the basis for the expectation that the achieved progress will be recognised in the upcoming EC report on Montenegro. We are convinced that, based on the good results we are achieving, the EC will shortly begin the definition of benchmarks to temporarily close these chapters," Chief Negotiator Drljević stressed.

Representatives of the Montenegrin delegation reported that all institutions, in full capacity, were committed to meeting obligations under Chapters 23 and 24.

Representatives of the Dutch ministries welcomed Montenegro's contribution to NATO and its clear commitment to EU membership.

They commended the compliance with the EU's foreign and security policy, the results achieved in the framework of police cooperation and the work to improve the position of the LGBT population. They recommended that in the coming period it is necessary to continue producing results in the field of fight against corruption, strengthening the independence of the judiciary and the freedom of the media, adding that Montenegro can count on the full support of the Dutch institutions.