Only a stable and truly pro-European Government will have a chance to speed up the negotiation process with the European Union (EU) for the benefit of the citizens of Montenegro, assessed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Filip Ivanović.
He said this at the conference "Bigger and stronger Union - make the European Union ready for enlargement and future members ready for accession" in Berlin, from which it was announced that the Western Balkans have a place in the EU, and that the policy of enlargement is the focus of the member states.
Ivanović thanked the head of German diplomacy, Analena Berbok, for the initiative to discuss the enlargement policy, which is crucial for Montenegro and the other countries of the Western Balkans, in a comprehensive and focused way, at a high level.
He, as announced by the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MVP), pointed to the polarized geopolitical configuration, shaped by Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, as well as other security-damaged circumstances around the world.
As he assessed, precisely because of this, the enlargement policy should be further strengthened, observing the Western Balkans region as an integral and natural part of the EU.
"The reforms we are implementing should go hand in hand with the enlargement policy, one of the most successful policies of the European Union, and Montenegro, as a country that has come a long way in the integration process, is ready to make a clear and concrete step forward on the way to the EU, in in line with the merit-based approach," Ivanovic said.
Montenegro elected a new government which, according to Ivanović, is more than ready to take advantage of the positive momentum of the enlargement policy.
"Only a stable and truly pro-European government will have a chance to speed up the negotiation process with the EU for the benefit of the citizens of Montenegro. In this sense, we highly appreciate the support of our European partners", added Ivanovic.
At the opening of the conference, it was pointed out that the question of whether there will be an expansion is no longer being asked, but the discussion is about when and how it will be implemented.
"Also, it was emphasized that the future role of the EU, as a strong voice in the global arena, will depend on how successfully it can be reformed and prepared for the next rounds of enlargement," the statement of the MFA states.
It is added that, during his stay in Berlin, Ivanovic had a brief conversation with Berbok and the foreign ministers of Austria, Aleksander Šalenberg, Slovenia, Tanja Fajon, Croatia, Gordan Grlić Radman, Georgia, Ilija Darčiašvili, and Poland, Zbigniew Rau.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Ivanovic also spoke with the head of diplomacy of Latvia Krišjanis Karinša, the Minister for European Affairs of France Laurence Bunn and the Minister for European Integration of Serbia Tanja Miščević.
"Also, he had separate bilateral meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitri Kuleb, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, as well as a working dinner with the special envoy of the German Government for the countries of the Western Balkans, Manuel Zaracin," said the MFA.
As they said, during all the talks, support for the European perspective of Montenegro and the Western Balkans was confirmed and satisfaction was expressed that the new Montenegrin Government clearly and unequivocally decided on European integration as its key priority, along with its commitment to NATO membership and the further development of good neighborly relations.
The host of the conference in Berlin was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany.
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