At the invitation of the Ambassador of Romania, country which is currently presiding over the Council of the EU, President of Montenegro, Mr Milo Đukanović, attended the working lunch which gathered ambassadors of the EU Member States accredited in Montenegro.
President Đukanović thanked ambassador Ferdinand Nagy for the initiative on organizing the meeting and he thanked Romania for ensuring good bilateral cooperation.
Mr Đukanović also thanked head of the EU Delegation and all EU ambassadors for the contribution they made to the adoption of European standards in Montenegro. He stressed the importance of the time of the meeting – in the context of the conclusions of the General Affairs Council, recently held elections to the European Parliament and the EC reports.
President Đukanović stated that the conclusions of the Council fell short of the expectations of WB. He said it would have been much better if a higher level of compromise had been reached. This region, according to Mr Đukanović, will never be stable without integration.
Finding balance
Capability of the European policy to find balance between the expectations of the Balkans and the EU is extremely important.
Mr Đukanović said that our country had shown an evident progress, effective strategy and constantly-growing capacities which guarantee that this strategy is going to be implemented. While being aware that it’s impossible to overcome all the obstacles overnight, Mr Đukanović said that Montenegro had managed to preserve multi-ethnic harmony and that it was constantly proving that it can face all the challenges.
Host of the working lunch said that Romania would keep supporting the enlargement policy. Romania agrees that EU needs to be a reliable partner and keep the promise it had given to the candidate countries. I am very proud to have had the chance to witness the great progress of Montenegro for the time of my diplomatic mandate, said Mr Nagy.
Active role of Montenegro in the region
Head of the EU delegation, Mr Aivo Orav, pointed out that Montenegro needed improvements in the area of rule of law, fight against corruption and organized crime, freedom of media. He said that the EU recognized progress made in the economic development and that it appreciated active role that Montenegro had in the region. The EU is ready to assist Montenegro in order for it to become EU Member State as soon as possible.
Ambassadors were interested in Mr Đukanović’s views on the current issues related to internal and regional policies. They were particularly interested in the adoption of the new Law on Freedom of Religion.
Mr Đukanović said that Montenegro was now dedicated to settling a very delicate church issue. They must avoid responding to the acts of provocation but they will defend their own interests without any doubt.
As far as the freedom of speech is concerned, Mr Đukanović knows how important that matter is. The objective is to create conditions for full freedom and independence of media.
