They had a number of meetings with representatives of the government and the Parliament in charge of coordinating the EU accession process.
The meeting with the minister for European affairs and chief negotiator Volkan Bozkir represented an opportunity to exchange experiences in the negotiation process the two countries are conducting with the EU.
Bozkir congratulated on the impressive results that Montenegro has made and pointed out that Turkey had a lot to learn from Montenegro’s experience, although it was much longer in the negotiation process and had significantly higher administration,.
The negotiations on the admission of Turkey to the EU began in October 2005. It has opened 15 chapters so far, one of which has been provisionally closed.
“He pointed out Turkey’s commitment to implementing the necessary reforms and accelerating the dynamics of approaching EU membership, as well as activities aimed at increasing public support for EU accession, but also changing the perception of Turkey in the European public”, the Foreign Ministry stated.
Pejovic presented the results that Montenegro has made since the opening of accession negotiations in June 2012, the results of which are reflected in the 22 open chapters, as well as the plans to open new chapters in 2016.
“The Turkish representatives were interested in the reforms that Montenegro has achieved in the field of rule of law. Having in mind that EU membership is the common foreign policy goal of the two countries, the officials agreed that there is a room for exchanging knowhow, experiences and best practices and discussing possibilities to intensify cooperation with the use of EU funds in areas of mutual interest”, the ministry stated.
Pejovic met the deputy undersecretary for EU affairs of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Murat Esenli. The two officials discussed obligations and challenges in the EU accession process, intensifying cooperation in reaching common European goals, as well as possibilities for improving economic cooperation between the two countries.
At the meeting with the co-chair of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, Ahmet Berat Conkar, the Montenegrin representatives exchanged views on the current and further commitments and plans of the two countries towards the EU, as well as the role and contribution of Parliament in the negotiation process.
“Resolving migration crisis and the dialogue on the visa regime liberalisation with Turkey launched in this context by the EC, as well as demands that Turkish side should meet have been also discussed”, the ministry stated.
