Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro is participating at the PACE Third part of the 2017 Ordinary Session, being held in Strasbourg, on 26-30 June.
One of key topics of this Session is migration in Europe, in particular the issues of refugee integration, humanitarian and political response to the migrant crisis, and migration as an opportunity for European development. Discussions on the issues of respecting and strengthening the principles of responsibility in the Parliamentary Assembly, fighting corruption and promoting integrity in governance, attracted special attention of MPs.
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the membership of Montenegro in the Council of Europe, the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Mr Duško Marković, addressed the Parliamentary Assembly today. The Prime Minister emphasised the strong commitment of Montenegro to achieving strategic national priorities and pointed out to the significant achievements made in the previous period, such as Montenegro's membership in NATO and significant progress in the process of membership negotiations with the European Union.
Reminding that PACE closed the monitoring procedure for Montenegro in January 2015, Mr Marković said that the challenges that Montenegro recognised were identical to those identified by the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly during post monitoring visits, and the solutions of which made us a step closer to achieving EU membership.
It has been pointed to numerous results achieved in the area of independence and efficiency of the judiciary, the fight against corruption and organised crime, fight against discrimination, and the building of an inclusive society, as well as commitment to meeting the recommendations of the Council of Europe and addressing the remaining challenges.
The Prime Minister also spoke about Montenegro's commitment to good neighborly relations and pointed to numerous joint projects in the field of international and legal cooperation, joint border crossings, joint diplomatic missions, especially energy and infrastructure.
The anniversary of the membership was also marked by the Gift Delivering Ceremony on the part of Montenegro to the Council of Europe, held in the presence of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, to whom a gift was presented, representatives of the Council of Europe, numerous parliamentarians and representatives of the diplomatic corps.
The June Session will be continued with discussions on the situation in Belarus, the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, the fight against terrorism, the political influence on independent media, and the fight against abuse and violence against women.
