Success in EU negotiation process will be rewarded

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of European Affairs Jovana Marović met with EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues Miroslav Lajčák. The two officials assessed that the Government should use the upcoming period to make up for lost time and show that the negotiation process is still alive.

EU Special Representative Lajčák said that Brussels praises Montenegro's full alignment with the EU's Common Security and Foreign Policy. The speed of your EU accession process is in your hands, he added.

He called for building trust at all levels, as well as improving the coordination mechanism, increasing efficiency and accountability.

Montenegro is a leader in the process of negotiations with the EU and as such can be an example to other candidate countries and potential candidate countries, Lajčák said and added that Montenegro has no open issues with neighbouring countries and is a factor of stability in the region.

DPM Marović pointed out that the plan is to achieve tangible results through hard and dedicated work, especially in the area of the rule of law, i.e. chapters 23 and 24.

She added that it is necessary to initiate a political dialogue in the Parliament, which will lead to a better understanding and a greater consensus.

Marović said that the special focus is on meeting the interim benchmarks in chapters 23 and 24, and expressed hope that the final benchmarks will be obtained by the end of the year.

The two officials agreed that it is necessary to intensify communication not only with the EU institutions, but also with member states in order to increase the visibility of the results that Montenegro achieves in the accession process.