PACE President talks with members of the Parliament of Montenegro

Thursday, 16 March 2017 19:23

PACE President talks with members of the Parliament of Montenegro

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email
Image Gallery

President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr Pedro Agramunt, who is paying a visit to Montenegro, met today with the delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms, Committee on International Relations and Emigrants, as well as with representatives of MP groups of the Parliament of Montenegro, who accepted the invitation for a joint meeting (MP Group of the Democratic Party of Socialists, MP Group of the Social Democrats of Montenegro and the Liberal Party of Montenegro, MP Group of the Bosniak Party, Coalition "Albanians Resolutely" and Croatian Civic Initiative).

At separate meetings they discussed the cooperation between Montenegro and the PACE in the framework of the post-monitoring dialogue, and there was also discussion about the current political challenges and regional cooperation, within the framework of the 10^th anniversary of Montenegro's membership in the Council of Europe.

The Members of the Parliament of Montenegro expressed satisfaction with the visit of the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to Montenegro, describing it as a continuation of very successful cooperation and good overall relations between the Council of Europe and Montenegro.

During the discussion, inter alia, it was emphasised that Montenegro over the past decade had shown commitment to common values, by building and strengthening democratic institutions, strengthening the rule of law, as well as with the protection and promotion of the core values of the European Convention on Human Rights.

MPs particularly welcomed initiatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe aimed at promoting the protection of human rights, namely the one against hatred and intolerance (#NoHateNoFear Initiative), which was launched last year by the PACE President, Mr Pedro Agramunt.

MPs expressed particular satisfaction with the fact that the PACE had recognised the significant progress that Montenegro had made in fulfilling the obligations undertaken with the membership in the Council of Europe, which led to the decision to stop the monitoring procedure for Montenegro, in January 2015.

During the meeting with the PACE President, Mr Pedro Agramunt, there was discussion about the successful cooperation of the Parliament of Montenegro and its delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with PACE co-rapporteurs during the post-monitoring dialogue. The belief was also expressed that their upcoming visit, planned for the middle of the year, would be the opportunity to get acquainted with the progress that Montenegro made with regard to meeting the recommendations and commitments of post-monitoring dialogue.

Participants of the meeting also focused on the European response to the global pan-European challenges, such as the fight against terrorism, the refugee crisis that would be the part of the discussions during the June Session of PACE, and the role of parliamentary diplomacy in frozen conflicts.