The results of the Government and the Ministry of Tourism, Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North (MERT) on the European road are visible and more than ever there is a great opportunity to speed up accession negotiations, it was announced at the meeting of the Minister of Tourism, Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North Vladimir Martinović and the head of the unit for Montenegro and Serbia in the Directorate for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Michael Miller.
The meeting, as stated in the MERT announcement, was held in Brussels as part of Martinović's official visit.
As they said, at the very beginning, presenting what had been achieved, through the adoption of a set of laws, he emphasized his strong commitment to the negotiation process and his readiness to intensify activities on the implementation of obligations from the Action Plan for the final benchmarks, Environment and Climate Change - Chapter 27.
The Ministry stated that Martinović apostrophized the expectations of the new negotiation structure headed by the newly appointed head of the Working Group of the negotiation Chapter 27 and member of the negotiation team Cluster 4 - Green Agenda and Reviving Connection, Nenad Vitomirović.
Martinović said that taking into account the complexity of Chapter 27, "the closure of which is expected at the very end of the negotiation process, early integration measures would be more than significant in order to strengthen administrative capacities and ensure a high degree of readiness for membership on the day of accession".
MERT explained that Martinović thanked the EU for its continued support and emphasized the government's firm commitment to the European course.
Miller and Martinović agreed that this is one of the rare chances when Montenegro has the opportunity to accelerate the closing of key chapters and enter the EU.
Miller emphasized the need to ignite a new consensus of the political spectrum in Montenegro regarding EU reforms.
"The EU accession process is performance-based and the essence has not changed. Meeting the interim benchmarks in Chapters 23 and 24 is the highest priority. The deadline for obtaining the IBAR (Interim Benchmark Assessment) is ambitious and requires strong political leadership and the strong involvement of many institution."
Especially with regard to Chapter 27. Miller, as stated, points out that the EU wants to make every effort to help Montenegro achieve progress in meeting the final benchmarks in the negotiated Chapter 27.
Congratulating on the results achieved and the adopted Law on Waste Management and the adopted National Chemicals Management Strategy, he emphasized that the focus should now be on their effective implementation.
"Our commitment and determination are stronger than ever and the European Commission is ready to closely cooperate with Montenegro on its European path, by providing adequate assistance and support. The growth plan for the Western Balkans and its reform agenda open the possibility for large potential investments in the development of infrastructure this country. However, Montenegro needs substantial reforms and the adoption of the National Energy and Climate Plan is a priority in that context," he added.
Martinović and Miller agreed on the complexity of Chapter 27 and its demands.
"In the financial sense and in terms of administrative capacity, especially in the area of waste management, environmental protection and climate change, taking into account the implementation process and obligations that require the involvement and hard work of numerous departments", they concluded.
Bonus video:
