In an interview for Dnevne Novine daily, Austrian Ambassador to Montenegro, Anna Janković, said Montenegro has achieved an extremely significant progress over the last few years, which might encourage the countries of region as well.
Montenegro’s accession to NATO might be regarded as confirmation of the country’s commitment to European values, especially in terms of foreign and security policy, according to Janković.
Once Montenegro fulfills the accession requirements, it should join the EU club regardless of progress made by other countries of the region, and Austria is going to provide its support to MNE, she said.
She also sees networking of young people as one of the greatest challenges in the region. “The young should travel to the neighboring countries and get to know more about them.”
As for Montenegro’s negotiation talks, our country’s definitely a leader in this process: “A significant progress Montenegro has achieved so far represents a positive and encouraging signal to other countries of the region. I’d hereby like to mention flexibility Montenegro showed with regards to the border demarcation deal with Kosovo. This act contributed to peace and stability in the region, and the EU, especially Austria, highly appreciated it,” noted Janković.
When asked about Montenegro’s membership in NATO, as that should facilitate the country’s road towards the EU, Janković explained those are completely different processes. “However, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that all the EU member states, before accessing to the EU, first became the NATO allies. NATO membership can be perceived as confirmation of the country’s commitment to European values.”
