Regardless of the events in EU, the countries of Western Balkan, Montenegro in particular, must preserve their own interests, implement envisaged reforms and be efficient in negotiations, said president of European movement in Montenegro Momcilo Radulovic for Pobjeda daily.
How justified is the fear of foreign ministers of Western Balkans that the expansion of EU will be halted after Brexit?
In the following two years, the priority of all institutions and EU member states will be the negotiations with the UK. However, some EU officials gave reassuring statements lately, regarding expansion to Western Balkans. There are initiatives that could preserve the status quo, or lead to some sort of collective membership, but I believe that formal policy of EU will remain in force, that is, each country will be separately considered. Some leaders in the Balkans use the alleged expansion tiredness to excuse their problems in accession. To be sure, EU is not as concerned with expansion at the moment is it used to be, but that is no excuse to stop the implementation of reforms. We all need to do our job, and the citizens are those that benefit from reforms.
When could we expect the first expansion of EU’s borders?
When we take into account all interior, foreign and institutional circumstances in EU, first expansion beats could be felt between 2020 and 2021. This primarily pertains to Montenegro, and depends on us doing our job right, which would entail stable political situation and completion of technical negotiation processes by 2020. We will encounter many interior obstacles on the path, as well as those that will come from foreign addresses.
Minister of European Affairs said on Thursday in the Parliament that the Government shall complete the negotiations during his mandate, i.e. the part of them that the Government is directly responsible for. Is that a realistic expectation?
If economic and political situation is stabilized, and necessary reforms in the rule of law and public administration are implemented, there are realistic chances for Montenegro to complete the technical portion of the negotiations by 2020. This would be beneficial not only for us, but for EU as well, because it would send a positive signal to the other countries in Western Balkans, and they would be encouraged to continue implementing reforms and EU standards.
