Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević announced today that Montenegro has included civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as equal partners in the negotiation process with the European Union (EU) from the very beginning.
The Ministry of European Affairs (MEP) announced that Gorčević made this statement at the forum "Building an Inclusive Future in the Enlarged EU: The Role of Social Dialogue, Civil Society and Youth Engagement", organized by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels.
"From the very beginning, Montenegro has included civil society and non-governmental organizations in the negotiation process as equal partners. Representatives of the civil sector participate in all negotiation working groups, as full members who can contribute and participate in decision-making. This approach has significantly influenced the quality and credibility of our reforms on the path to the EU. The participation of the civil sector has ensured greater transparency, public trust and broader ownership of the EU agenda," Gorčević emphasized.
She added that in Montenegro, civil society participation is institutionalized through their membership in key bodies, such as the Rule of Law Council, the Supervisory Board for the Reform Agenda within the Growth Plan, and the Council for Cooperation with NGOs.
"All these bodies are very active and I have to say that we in Montenegro have a really strong non-governmental sector, which we should be proud of," said Gorčević.
The MEP statement states that the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Oliver Ropke, praised Montenegro as one of the leaders of the enlargement process.
It is reported that Ropke stressed the importance of social dialogue in candidate countries, emphasizing that a successful enlargement process cannot be limited only to relations between European institutions and governments, but must also strongly involve civil society.
"If we want to achieve results by 2028, we need to work together. A democratically resilient civil society in candidate countries is in the interest of the entire EU," said Ropke.
The MEP statement states that the Forum in Brussels was attended by representatives of governments, civil society, trade unions and international organizations from member states and candidate countries.
"The EESC is an advisory body of the European Union that brings together representatives of employers, trade unions and civil society organizations with the aim of ensuring that the voice of social actors is heard in the process of adopting European policies and is the first institution to open its doors to candidate countries. Montenegro has been a member of the EESC since 2024," said the MEPs.
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