No country has ever moved so fast towards the West like Montenegro has – ever since the Cold War. Not only the government, that is, presidents, prime ministers and ministers of foreign affairs should take credit for such results, but also exceptional men and women in Montenegro who have been working with commitment in ministries and overseas embassies. And, of course, Brussels, that has accelerated the integration, says in the interview for Pobjeda, Bruce Jackson.
Expert for the integration of post-communist countries into NATO and president of the Project on Transitional Democracies, one of the leading NGOs in Washington, points out that there will be more and more American investors as Montenegro is getting closer to the EU.
He remembers numerous meetings that have been held with Milo Đukanović and Milan Roćen in the last twenty years. Each time, future of Montenegro in NATO and EU was the main topic.
“Milo Đukanović has always emphasized Montenegrin way towards NATO. Year 2006 was the turning point, when Montenegro became an independent state and the door of EU and NATO opened wide. Ever since the Cold War, no country has made such great progress towards its way towards the West”, says Jackson.
He totally agrees with the accession to the EU being our country’s top priority.
“All the values that brought Montenegro into NATO will be the same ones that will bring it to the EU. However, insisting on some artificial dates is senseless. It only hinders the entire process. The accession process is like studying. It doesn’t matter how long you study, as long as you learn something. It’s important that Montenegro keeps closing the chapters”, said the American expert.
Asked how Montenegro could attract American investors, he took Croatia as a positive example.
“Once the Montenegrin story is spread and once it gets closer to becoming EU Member State, you can expect just the same economic expansion in Montenegro as well”, said Jackson.
He also spoke about the case of terrorism and the trial that is almost over.
“We are all working hard on stopping Russia’s intervention in the elections in other countries. We must hope in the forthcoming decade that the Russian-Ukrainian war will finish and that the relations between the EU and Russia will normalize”, said Jackson.
