At today's 29th meeting of the Committee on European Integration, Head of the EU Delegation to Montenegro H.E. Mitja Drobnič presented the main aspects of the 2014 Progress Report on Montenegro, which was published yesterday by the European Commission.

At the beginning, Ambassador Drobnič referred to the statement of new European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that in the next five years there will be no enlargement, emphasizing that this is an objective assessment of the progress of the candidate countries and the time necessary for the fulfillment of criteria and formal accession to the Union, and that this message should not be understood as stultifying of the intensive work of the candidate countries on reforms. The Ambassador stated that the Report reflects the new approach of the European Commission, which has three main pillars: the rule of law, economic governance and public administration reform. He pointed out to the progress of Montenegro in certain fields over the past year, but also pointed to the failure to meet a number of obligations.

 After the introduction, different opinions of MPs were expressed in the active discussion about the level of Montenegro's progress in achieving key political reforms. However, it was unanimously assessed, that in factual terms, the Report is objective and it reflects the real situation in terms of fulfillment of commitments. Also, MPs welcomed the fact that the European Commission stated in the Report that, in the process of Montenegro’s accession to the European Union, the role of the Parliament has been enhanced, and in particular the role of the Committee on European Integration.  

In addition to members of the Committee, the meeting was attended by the Vice President Branko Radulović, chairmen of parliamentary committees Halil Duković, Branka Tanasijević and Radivoje Lala Nikčević, Secretary General of the Parliament Damir Davidović, as well as representatives of the EU Delegation to Montenegro Alberto Cammarata, Annalisa Giansanti, Barbara Rotovnik and Sintija Steinite.