The accession of another country to the European Union (EU) would encourage the spirit of optimism among the members, because it sends a strong message that the EU is still a place to strive for, said Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević.
At the panel "Montenegro: Safe on the road to European integration?", which was held as part of Forum 2000 in Prague, she said that this could strengthen the role of the EU and encourage greater integration within the Union itself.
The Ministry of European Affairs (MEP) announced that Gorčević, at the panel where she spoke with the Minister of European Affairs of the Czech Republic, Martin Dvoržak, said that Montenegro must not miss the moment when the enlargement policy is alive again, as well as the positive mood among the member states .
"A few days ago, we passed key legislation to close four chapters. This is the first time in the last seven years that Montenegro temporarily closes chapters", said Gorčević.
She said that it is expected to happen at the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) with the EU by the end of December, which will be the third IGC this year, after two years before that, none was held.
Gorčević said that the right moment was needed for such a move.
"After several years of fatigue from enlargement at the EU level and years in which decision-makers in Montenegro were disinterested in joining the EU, things have changed on both sides," the MEP statement said.
Gorčević said that a year ago, Montenegro got a pro-European government with the largest support in the parliament ever, which was even extended to two-thirds of the deputies this summer.
"Given that 80 percent of our citizens support Montenegro's accession to the EU, the Government of which I am a part has decided to use that potential and intensify efforts in that direction," Gorčević said.
As she said, in order to complete that process, Montenegro needs EU support for building institutional capacities, accelerating economic growth and implementing reforms in a sustainable manner.
"We need the determination of the EU regarding the enlargement policy, and I believe that the appointment of an enlargement commissioner from Slovenia could be a positive signal for Montenegro", stated Gorčević.
She stressed that Montenegro advocates an approach based on merit, because the efforts of each candidate are individual, so the decision on their membership should be the same.
"Gorčević also had a bilateral meeting with Dvořák, and on the sidelines of Forum 2000, she met with Jaroslav Zajicek, director of the Department for Foreign Policy in the Office of the President of the Czech Republic, and Tomas Pojar, adviser for national security in the Office of the President of the Czech Government," the statement said.
It is stated that the interlocutors agreed that the merit-based principle is the best, and that they see Montenegro as a chance for the enlargement process.
"They also talked about concrete areas for intensifying cooperation, such as expert support of the Czech Republic in the negotiation process, attracting investments from this country, as well as cooperation in the field of defense," said the MEP.
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