NATO allies of Montenegro are the strongest support to our country’s aspirations to become an EU member - this is a joint assessment from the separate meetings of Chairperson of the Committee on International Relations and Emigrants Mr Andrija Nikolić and ambassadors of the Kingdom of Netherlands Mr Henk Van den Dool, Kingdom of Spain H.E. Mr Miguel Fuertes Suarez, Republic of Portugal H.E. Mr Augusto José Pestana Saraiva Peixot, and Canada Kathleen Csaba.
During his meetings with non-resident ambassadors, of whom three are representatives of EU member states, Mr Nikolić reiterated the unambiguous commitment of Montenegro to adopt new knowledge, values and experiences in order to be, in the formal sense as well, in the company of the most developed countries of Europe.
Recalling that our country was leading the accession process, Chairperson of the Committee on International Relations and Emigrants Mr Andrija Nikolić said to his the interlocutors that Montenegro knew that the closing of the chapters was the most demanding part of the negotiations, with the assurance that the Montenegrin institutions would successfully overcome that challenge as well.
Dutch Ambassador Mr Van den Dool stressed that continuation of the enlargement to the Western Balkans countries was the interest of his country and the European Union as well, pointing out that Montenegro was clearly heading towards membership in the Union. In this regard, Mr Nikolić reminded that Dutch and Montenegrin PMs recently held a meeting in Sofia, which was far more than the meeting on the margins, agreeing on that occasion to intensify the interstate contacts at all levels.
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain Mr Suarez emphasised the importance of political stability, which has been a key factor of all internal and international success of Montenegro, with the assessment that majority of European countries could envy Montenegro at that.
Portuguese Ambassador Mr Peixoto said that the harmonisation process of Montenegrin legislation with the EU acqui was taking place in accordance with the planned dynamics, and that Montenegrin citizens even now had the EU standards in their country.
Canadian Ambassador Ms Csaba emphasised, among other things, that about 4000 Montenegrin emigrants living and working in Canada represented a special bridge between the two states, as they were a significant part of the overall multicultural and multi-ethnic mosaic - one of the main values of this country.
Chairperson of the Committee Mr Nikolić and non-resident ambassadors spoke on fight against organised crime and corruption, rule of law, situation on the media scene, as well as on current investment projects. Also, the need for intensifying parliamentary dialogue was emphasised, therefore concrete steps have been taken to improve inter-parliamentary cooperation, particularly in the area of expert support that could be of major importance for the Parliament of Montenegro in the further stages of state development.
On day three of his visit, Chairperson of the Committee Mr Nikolić will visit Sremski Karlovci, where he will have a meeting with representatives of associations and organisations of emigrants living and working in the Republic of Serbia.
