At a meeting with the Vice President of the European Parliament, Esteban Gonzalez Pons, it was underlined that Montenegro is making significant progress on its path to EU membership and that it has a realistic prospect of becoming a full member by 2028.
Boban Stanišić, Secretary General of the Parliament of Montenegro, paid his first official visit to Brussels, where he held a series of important meetings with top officials from the European Parliament responsible for Western Balkans affairs and EU enlargement.
During the meeting with Vice President Esteban Gonzalez Pons, it was underlined that Montenegro is achieving notable results in the EU accession process and has a real chance of attaining full membership by 2028. Pons conveyed a message from the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, stating that European institutions remain a strong partner and ally to Montenegro on its European journey.
"I will not end my mandate without seeing Montenegro as a member of the European Union. You must already begin thinking like a member and collectively consider the day after you become part of the Union," said Pons.
It was particularly highlighted that Montenegro enjoys high public support for EU membership, with around 80 percent of citizens in favour, representing a strong democratic mandate and a clear affirmation of the country’s European orientation.
At the meeting with the Vice President of the European Parliament, Antonella Sberna, it was noted that the enlargement process is a generational challenge but also a shared goal to which the European Parliament is fully committed. Sberna stated that Montenegro remains a positive example of a country actively implementing reforms and contributing to the stability of the entire region.
"We recognize and appreciate the efforts Montenegro is making on the path of European reforms. In the European Parliament, you have an important interlocutor and partner. We firmly believe that your efforts to join the Union are of great importance, and we expect everything to go according to plan," Sberna stated.
She particularly emphasized that Montenegro, through institutional cooperation with the services of the European Parliament, has a common platform for further strengthening relationships and advancing in the EU accession process. Secretary General Stanišić highlighted that Montenegro highly values her mandate, especially in the part related to the Western Balkans, recognizing her role as crucial for preserving and strengthening the dynamics of EU enlargement.
"Your leadership within the European Parliament gives additional political weight to enlargement issues, and that is why we appreciate your voice in shaping the debate on accession in Brussels. This opportunity was important for us to express gratitude and encourage further support in strengthening the dialogue on enlargement as a strategic policy," Stanišić stated.
During the meeting, the possibility of organizing an official visit of the Vice President Sberna to Montenegro shortly was also discussed, as an additional incentive to boost inter-institutional cooperation and dialogue on enlargement. General Secretary Stanišić also met with European Parliament member Lukas Mandl, to whom he expressed gratitude for the active support of the conference on the future of European Union enlargement, which the Montenegrin Parliament successfully organized at the end of June in Podgorica.
The interlocutors agreed that the enlargement of the EU remains a strategic priority and a visionary project of the generation, and that Montenegro, as a country with a stable pro-European majority in the parliament and with the support of over 80 percent of its citizens, has the capacity to achieve this goal in the coming period.
"Montenegro's membership in the EU in 2028 will contribute to the stability of the region, and Montenegro remains a reliable partner, fully aligned with the foreign policy of the European Union and, as a NATO member, aware of its role in the Western Balkans," Stanišić said.
As a leading member of the Democracy Group, MEP Mandl praised the fact that the Parliament of Montenegro was the first outside the EU to organize a citizens' assembly, as a modern form of democratic participation of citizens in decision-making processes.
In the conversation with MEP Thomas Weitz, concrete activities were agreed upon within the regional assembly of citizens, which the Montenegrin and European parliaments will jointly organize in Podgorica in mid-September this year.
"It will be an honour for us to participate in this event, bearing in mind your commitment to strengthening the democratic dialogue and the future of the Western Balkans in the European Union," Stanišić said.
Weitz pointed out that Montenegro is in a unique position today because it has already gone through a long-term accession process during which numerous reforms were implemented.
(EUpravo zato.rs)
