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Montenegro opened Chapter 27

Montenegro opened Chapter 27 – Environment and Climate Change today, at the Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels.

Costs for this chapter will amount 1,6 billion EUR.

This is another success for Montenegro and a recognition for Montenegrin institutions for the intense work they put in the harmonization of domestic legislation with the EU regulations and construction of necessary administrative capacities.

Chief of Montenegrin delegation, Minister of Foreign affairs, Srđan Darmanović, said in his address to the representatives of Member States and the European Commission that Montenegro has 32 open chapters.

“This is the proof of our constant and strong commitment to the EU integration process. I believe that we will once again prove our leadership position and give a new incentive to the integration process and thus confirm the credibility of the European perspective of Western Balkans”, said Darmanović.

He reminded today that EU integration process has no alternative.

“That’s the only framework that guarantees stability in the region and in Europe”, said Darmanović.

Minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Pavle Radulović, said that today’s decision on opening Chapter 27 can be considered to be almost historical. He pointed out that our state is dedicated to environment protection. With the aim of creating legal framework for future investments in the field of environment, the Government of Montenegro rendered decision on the establishment of the Fund for the environment protection (Eco Fund).

Hahn: Support for Montenegro

European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said that opening chapter 27 is another big step forward in the Montenegro’s EU journey. In Brussels today, he repeated that the EC will keep supporting integration of Montenegro to the EU.

Kneissl: Confirmation of progress

Chair of the delegation of the EU Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, Karin Kneissl, said that today’s Conference is another proof of the commitment of Montenegro to fulfilling the requirements for the EU accession.

The Government: The objective is to reach European standards

Montenegro, as the first ecological state defined by the Constitution, is fully dedicated to high level of environment protection and preserving its rich biological diversity. Therefore, it sees accession negotiations as a good chance for the improvement of environment protection as a necessary prerequisite for the implementation of principles and standards of sustainable development.

 

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