When the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her State of the Union speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, she presented various initiatives and results, as well as the direction in which the EU will move in the coming period. The EU enlargement negotiation process was mentioned in one part, which particularly drew the attention of the Western Balkans.
Speaking to EUpravo Zato, Minister of European Affairs of Montenegro, Maida Gorčević, discussed what message this sends to the countries in the process, how important EU enlargement is for countries that have been "in the waiting room" for years, as well as other topics.
"Considering that the President of the European Commission, in her very motivating, strong and powerful speech, addressed and reflected on perhaps all those problems that go beyond enlargement itself, I believe that the message related to enlargement was expected. She said that enlargement is very important for the stability and security of the whole EU. If we look at what is happening in Moldova during their political campaign, if we look at what is happening in Ukraine, I believe that enlargement policy is very important for the entire EU, and I think that, as far as we are concerned, her approach and that of the other commissioners, who send us messages through their speeches, is encouraging," said Gorčević.
She added that a particularly encouraging signal came from Brussels, where Albania opened Cluster 4.
"Montenegro, alongside other countries, was praised in the area of the rule of law, and I believe such developments represent additional evidence that the European Commission truly wants a success story. I see Ursula von der Leyen’s speech as an extra incentive, proof that the enlargement policy is now understood and taken for granted, that it is no longer meaningless. A single paragraph does not mean as much as the other messages that are being sent to us every day," she told our portal.
Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed her visit to Montenegro, Gorčević reminded, where on 14 and 15 October she will open the investment conference.
"This is further proof of how much she believes in candidate countries and how much space we are being given not only to showcase our reforms, but also to build closer cooperation between member states and candidate states," she concluded.