At the cabinet meeting on Thursday, the government adopted a communication on the European Commission’s 2016 Montenegro Report.
As the government announced, Djukanovic said it was good that the country gained momentum in fulfilling European agenda objectives and that “high-ranking officials in Brussels assessed the thongs achieved in Montenegro as progress”.
“With the 24 chapters opened and perspective that additional chapters shall be opened during the Slovakia’s presidency to the EU, the Prime Minister said that Montenegro entered a phase in which it can no longer be treated the same as other countries in the accession process, adding that our country went through a similar path in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration, until it emerged as a leader”, it was said in the statement carried by the Mina news agency.
Djukanovic expects the challenges identified in the report to be introduced into the working guidelines for further action as soon as possible, with a view to further progress of Montenegro in the European integration process.
Presenting the report, Chief Negotiator Aleksandar Andrija Pejovic said, that “despite the negative interpretation in certain local media, on one hand it is the best EC report on Montenegro so far, and on the other hand the document shows that Montenegro kept the leading role and progress compared to all the other countries that are in the process of accession to the European Union”.
As announced by the government, Pejovic said that the ambassadors of EU member states, whom he met before the cabinet meeting also said that.
“Although the reports are not called progress reports, we agree that in the case of Montenegro it is the progress,” said Pejovic.
The cabinet particularly highlighted progress in Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, with the assessment that the effort has paid off, although there are still challenges.
