President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Mr Ivan Brajović, participated in the 9th Meeting of Speakers of Parliaments of Southeastern European Countries in Budapest. Aside from the host Hungary and the countries of the region, this year's meeting was attended by Speakers of Parliaments of other countries of the Visegrad Group, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Slovak Republic.
During the Meeting, and the opening remarks made by Mr László Kövér, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, followed by the adreess made by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Mr Viktor Orbán, the President Brajović delivered a presentation on "The Future of EU Enlargement Policy".
- The Western Balkans will only be fully stable, secure and prosperous once it is integrated into the European Union. The European Union will only be complete once this part of Europe is part of it. It is important for us to understand that this process is a two-way street and that the benefits are mutual. I am convinced that the values of this region’s countries can only make Europe richer and more complete. I am sure that the neighbours can help each other along this path, because the experiences and challenges we face are similar – said the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Mr Ivan Brajović.
- We are aware that there are still fields where we should reach standards expected from us. We know that integration and overall process has to be more focused on the essence and substance, and less on the technical side, and this is a mutual responsibility of the actors of this process. Also, we believe that it is important to recognise the dedicated work on reforms and award results when they are undeniably achieved. Therefore, the decision not to set a date for the start of negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania is disappointing for our region, given that both countries have fulfilled the requirements set by Brussels in the previous period. I deliberately say for the region, because this decision itself raised concerns about the credibility of the perspective for all our countries in the integration process. The challenges the European Union had faced in the previous period, such as Brexit, the rise of populism throughout Europe and migration, should not be an excuse for slowing down our and our neighbours integration path. It has been repeatedly stated in the previous period that the Union's internal consolidation and enlargement process are not mutually exclusive.
The Joint Statement on EU Enlargement was adopted during the Meeting by the Speakers of Parliaments of Southeastern European Countries and the Visegrad Group, to be forwarded by the Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, Mr László Kövér, to the President of the European Council, the current Chairperson of the EU Council, the Presidents of the European Parliament and the European Commission, as well as to speakers of all national parliaments of the Member States of the European Union. The Statement calls for increased support for EU enlargement and stresses that the accession of the Southeast European countries to the European Union has not only an impact on the security, stability and progress of the region, but also to the entire continent. The political leaders of EU Member States are urged to do all in their power to reach a decision as soon as possible on the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia, and stresses the importance of respecting the principle of individual merit, with the ultimate goal of EU membership.
During his stay in Hungary, President Brajović met at the Embassy of Montenegro in Budapest with the heads of diplomatic missions representing Montenegro on a non-resident basis from Hungary. The main topics during the meeting focused on the current political situation in Montenegro, as well as on the possibilities of improving bilateral cooperation between Montenegro and those countries, especially in the area of parliamentary cooperation.
The meeting was attended by representatives of diplomatic missions of Estonia, Latvia, Ireland, Georgia, Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines and Colombia.
Speech by the President Brajović
Video coverage – IX Meeting of Speakers of Parliaments of Southeastern European Countries
