What I see as problems in the announcement is that the European Commission (EC) insists that Montenegro fully adapt its visa regime to the visa regime of the European Union (EU), the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, announced today.
The Medabiro Agency reports that, answering journalistic questions after the ceremonial opening of the Mimosa Festival, Milatović pointed out that he could not be satisfied with the winter tourist season, but that he was optimistic about the summer tourist season.
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"What I see as problems in the announcement is that the European Commission insists that Montenegro fully adapt its visa regime to the visa regime of the European Union. We are neither in heaven nor on earth - we are not part of the EU, and we are a tourist country. Of course, people do not want to go somewhere if they need a tourist visa, so I hope that the Government will manage to better negotiate our position, which is related to our national interest, which is to have a visa-free regime with as many countries as possible, so that our tourism industry and overall economic activity would be much better. It is not easy, but we will fight for our interest," said Milatović.
He noted that guests from the region account for more than a third of all tourist traffic in Montenegro.
"Serbia is absolutely important here. When I was a minister, I often said that Serbia is our largest individual economic partner, and now as president I am doing everything in my power to ensure that politics is actually a promoter of economic relations, not a brake. This is in the interest of the citizens of Montenegro and Serbia, this is in the interest of our economies. We have the same approach towards all other countries in the region. We are the country that depends most on countries in the region and as such we pursue a good-neighborly policy. All countries in the region are more than just an economy for Montenegro, they are countries with which we have a common past, a common present and most certainly a common future," said Milatović.
Vijesti reported today that civic activist Dina Bajramspahić warned that the Government continues to avoid the obligation to harmonize visa policy with the EU, and that the list of countries exempt from the visa regime is getting longer instead of getting shorter.
The EC recalled that visa-free travel between the EU and Montenegro is a significant achievement that "requires constant vigilance", and that the Montenegrin authorities should remove two countries from the list of countries with a visa-free regime by the end of February, so that the country can receive money from the "Growth Plan for the Western Balkans".
Bajramspahić told Vijesti that visa policy is a sub-area of the "very well-known" Chapter 24 (justice, freedom, security), on which progress in Podgorica's accession negotiations with Brussels depends.
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