European integration is the joint responsibility of the Western Balkans and the European Union, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Srđan Darmanović today at the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF), which was attended by, among others, high officials of the European Union, the region and the United States of America.
This year's BSF, entitled "Sources of (in)stability", is dedicated to issues of security in the international order, management of strategic resources to maintain stability, climate change, as well as the challenges of economic development, progress and democracy.
During the Forum, Darmanović was a speaker on the panel "Western Balkans - Europeanization, democratization, shared responsibility", dedicated to the impact of progress in integration processes on the adoption of Western values and democratic standards.
As reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he emphasized during the panel that European integration is the joint responsibility of the Western Balkans and the EU. He stated that the previous semester did not bring much progress to the region in terms of EU integration, despite, as he said, significant efforts undertaken by the governments of the Western Balkan countries.
He emphasized, the ministry added, that the European Union, despite internal challenges, must have a clear policy towards our region, which will entail a determined continuation of the enlargement policy, and he expressed the expectation that the October session of the European Council will give a positive signal in the context of the opening of negotiations with North Macedonia. Albania, and the last negotiation chapter with Montenegro.
During the Bled Strategic Forum, Darmanović met with the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Special Representative for the Western Balkans Matthew Palmer, the Deputy Secretaries General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Jean-Christophe Béliard and Pedro Serrano, the President of the Horasis Foundation Frank Jurgen Richter and Katja Geršak, executive director of the Center for European Perspective.
The talks, as announced by the ministry, discussed security trends in Europe and the region, and the importance of integrating the Western Balkans into the EU. "Montenegro is recognized as a contributor to stability, and as a reliable neighbor and constructive partner, both through regional and multilateral mechanisms, and on a bilateral level," the ministry concludes.
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