PM Marković hosts newly appointed Ambassador of Finland: EU enlargement policy based on regatta principle is on agenda of Finland's presidency of Council of EU

Podgorica, Montenegro (2 July 2019) -- Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković hosted an inaugural visit by Ambassador of Finland to Montenegro Kimmo Lähdevirta.

The Prime Minister welcomed Ambassador Lähdevirta and wished him success in his work. He thanked Finland for its support for Montenegro's EU bid, stressing the country's commitment to pursuing reforms in order to achieve European standards. In that regard, the Prime Minister said he is hopeful that during the Finnish presidency, which started yesterday, Montenegro will open the only remaining negotiating chapter and bring to an end the work on reports that will determine the internal willingness to close certain negotiating chapters.

Ambassador Lähdevirta informed the Prime Minister about the priorities of the Finnish presidency of the Council of the EU, noting that his country will promote the enlargement policy and that all the Western Balkan countries must have a European perspective. Finland, the Ambassador said, advocates for the regatta principle, that is, the individual assessment of the success of each candidate country.

The Prime Minister of Montenegro and the Ambassador of Finland agreed that the two countries have developed high-quality bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction with the fact that economic cooperation has been intensified as well, in particular referring to the cooperation between the Electric Power Industry of Montenegro and the Finnish Fortum on the project of one of the largest solar power plants in Europe . It was concluded that this project could set an example to further Finnish investors in Montenegro.