Opening address was given by both the Chairperson of the Defence and Security Committee Mr Mevludin Nuhodžić and Assistant Director and Head of Department for Operations for South East Europe DCAF from Geneva Mr Darko Stančić. 

The Vice President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr Suljo Mustafić pointed out that the full implementation of the constitutional and legal provisions represented a significant guarantee that the democratic control of work of institutions from the defence and security sector would be at a high level, and in that regard we should endeavour to achieve that goal through continuous work and permanent efforts seeking to promote knowledge and share experiences.
- We are fully aware that the goal of strengthening the parliamentary control, through instruments regulated by the law, is not done in order to cause cessation of work of the controlled subjects, but to make the existing work more efficient, and to prevent or eliminate potential irregularities as soon as possible and with consequences as small as possible, added the Vice President Mustafić. 

- In the following period, Montenegro will, with further implementation of the defence and security reforms and reaching democratic standards, continue with serious preparations for full-fledged membership to NATO Alliance, concluded the Vice President Mustafić. 

In his opening address, the Chairperson of the Defence and Security Committee Mr Mevludin Nuhodžić pointed out the importance of the role of the parliament at a time when the budget allocations for defence and security in the countries all over the world were decreasing and when we were jointly facing the challenge of how not to jeopardise the security of our countries and the region as a whole, in such an atmosphere of continuous economic lagging.

In continuation he reminded that on the foundation and under the auspices of the Euro-Atlantic integration, the reform processes in the defence and security sector had been conducted and were still being conducted, and he deemed them as important not only for the end-goal – full-fledged NATO membership, achieved by some of the countries participants, but also for achieving adequate standard, strengthening the rule of law, harmonising our systems with the system of partner countries, rationalising with regard to planning and responsibility in acting of the authorities and the institutions in this sectors, which was what all the countries in the region endeavoured.

Cooperation both internally and internationally, and especially regional cooperation and development of good neighbourly relations, with uniting of capacities, knowledge and resources were the only path to keeping the security and stability of our countries, added the Chairperson of the Defence and Security Committee.
-Therefore, I would like to emphasise once more the importance of defining priorities in the field of security and defence both internally and internationally, in order to avoid additional budget cuts in this sector and reduce the possibility for emergence of new security challenges, concluded Mr Nuhodžić. 

In his closing statement, the Assistant Director and Head of Department for Operations for South East Europe DCAF from Geneva Mr Darko Stančić pointed out the significance of development and promotion of regional cooperation and deemed as important the establishment of mechanisms for continuous and effective implementation of parliamentary oversight which, among other things, was one of the criteria on the path toward Euro-Atlantic integration.

The first session titled " Euro-Atlantic integration and implications for the budget process of defence" was moderated by the Chairperson of the Defence Committee of the Croatian Parliament Mr Tomislav Ivić.

 In her address, the Minister of Defence Ms Milica Pejanović-Đurišić pointed out that the issue of democratic political control over the defence sector represented one of the important conditions for membership, both to the European Union and NATO. She pointed out that all the activities undertaken by the Ministry of Defence in the past six years required good planning, adoption and management of the defence budget.
The Minister of Defence deemed as significant the role of the Parliament of Montenegro aimed at more transparent and effective spending of the defence budget funds, and in the context of civil, democratic control over the defence and security sector.
- By increasing transparency of operations through quality financial reporting and by establishing the internal control and audit system in the Ministry of Defence, the integrity of the budget process is ensured and the possibility of subsequent misuse of the budget funds is decreased, concluded Ms Pejanović-Đurišić. 
The Minister of Defence of Macedonia Mr Talat Xhaferi also spoke within the session, emphasising that, in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration, the activities of the Western Balkans countries included not only promotion and improvement of regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations, but also a commitment to the application of values of the European Union and NATO. He highlighted that the Euro-Atlantic integration had been influencing positively the democratic processes in the regional countries, assessing that joint operations and good relations among Western Balkans countries had no alternative. The Minister also pointed out that the reform in the defence sector required systematic planning and continuous focus on the improvement of available resources as well as putting efforts in development and improvement of capacities in the defence and security sector.

Two sessions are scheduled by the end of the first working day: The Role of Parliaments in Security Budget Formulation and Approval and Budget Audit and Evaluation.

This year XV Cetinje Parliamentary Forum, organised by the Parliament of Montenegro in cooperation with the Centre for Security, Development and the Rule of Law (DCAF), gathered more than 50 parliamentarians from the region.