Gorčević: Montenegro clearly shows its determination to be the next member of the EU

Montenegro, with 100% compliance with the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union (EU), the absence of open disputes with its neighbors and with the status of favorite in the accession negotiations, clearly expresses its determination to be the next member of the EU, said Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević.

Today in Brussels, she participated in the meeting of the EU General Affairs Council (GAC), which was organized by the permanent representation of Hungary to the EU, within the framework of that country's presidency of the Council of the Union.

"Our goal is to provide measurable, stable and sustainable results in all areas, especially in the field of the rule of law," Gorčević said.

According to her, political will and stability are the guarantee that the necessary reforms will be implemented in a high-quality manner and in the shortest possible time.

"With 80 percent compliance with the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, the use of the euro, XNUMX percent of public support for EU membership, the absence of open disputes with neighbors and with the status of favorites in the accession negotiations, we clearly express our determination for Montenegro to be the next member of the EU," Gorčević pointed out.

Gorčević said that the receipt of the Report on the Fulfillment of Provisional Benchmarks for Rule of Law Chapters (IBAR) was a turning point in the accession negotiations with the EU, not only for Montenegro, but also for the entire Western Balkans region.

She said that she is convinced that the success of Montenegro will have a positive effect on other candidate countries.

Gorčević stated that the Government's intentions were clear already in the first 100 days of work, when they dealt with the most sensitive issues in the field of justice, which, as she stated, represented the main stumbling block on Montenegro's European path for almost a decade.

"Securing a two-thirds majority in the parliament for the highest judicial appointments was a turning point and a clear signal that Montenegro is committed to doing everything necessary to speed up negotiations with the EU, and the adoption of 12 system laws and four strategies confirmed that the improvement of the state of governance rights, our priority", said Gorčević.

She pointed out that, after receiving the IBAR, the competent institutions continue to work on all areas that are part of negotiation chapters 23 and 24, in accordance with the legal acquis of the EU and the best European standards and practices.

For the first time in the discussion at the GAC, in addition to the 27 EU member states, representatives of four candidate states for membership: Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia participated as equal participants.

The Ministry of European Affairs said that this confirmed the unequivocal commitment of the EU to support the reform efforts of these candidate countries and preparations for their future membership in the Union.

The Minister of European Affairs of Hungary, Janos Boka, emphasized at the beginning of the meeting that the candidate countries will participate in the discussion equally.

"This means that we will discuss with them, not about them. I hope that we will support them in their reforms and accession process," said Boka.

At the meeting, opinions were exchanged on the Report on the Rule of Law for this year.