Prime Minister Spajić hosted the Prime Minister of Portugal: Montenegro has a clear European perspective

Montenegro is the frontrunner in European integration and has the strong backing of Portugal to become the first next member of the European Union, said the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, who visited Montenegro today as part of his visit to the region.

The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić, hosted the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, with whom he discussed the opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation and the European integration of Montenegro.

Prime Minister Spajić introduced the interlocutor to the work program of the 44^th Government and pointed out that the conditions have been created for reform processes that will contribute to the acceleration of the integration process.

Special emphasis, as he highlighted, will be on the rule of law and negotiation chapters 23 and 24.

In the environment of political stability and functionality of institutions, which I believe we have at this moment in Montenegro - we want to engage all available capacities in order to speed up the integration process and fulfill the prerequisites for membership as soon as possible, the Prime Minister pointed out.

The President of Portugal, António Costa, expressed his satisfaction with the visit to Montenegro and the region and said that Portugal wants to enhance cooperation at all levels.

Costa reiterated Portugal's strong support for the European integration of Montenegro and pointed out that progress in the process of gaining membership should be based on the individual merits and achieved track record of the candidate countries in the reform processes, and that in this context, Montenegro has a clear European perspective. The interlocutors stated that the political relations between the two countries are excellent and as such represent a good foundation for improving the contractual base and strengthening cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

As assessed, there is vast room for cooperation in the fields of tourism, energy, infrastructure and fisheries, and in this context, it is necessary to strengthen the legislative basis between the two countries and in the near future to make cooperation more concrete through joint projects.

Prime Minister Costa's visit is the first visit by a Portuguese Prime Minister to Montenegro and as such is of great importance for strengthening and continuing the overall cooperation between the two countries.