During the plenary sitting of the 60^th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the participants were addressed by the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Hugh Bayley, ending his two-year term of office with this session, as well as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr Mark Rutte.

The participants were also addressed, for the first time, by the newly appointed Secretary General of NATO, Mr Jens Stoltenberg, following whose opening statement parliamentarians had the opportunity to ask questions and present comments.

On this occasion, the Head of the delegation of the Croatian Parliament to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Boris Blažeković, stating that Montenegro has reached almost all the standards required for admission to NATO, posed the question to the Secretary General about his expectations concerning the status of Montenegro's membership in the Alliance.

On this occasion, Mr Jens Stoltenberg stressed intensified and focused talks between Montenegro and the Alliance, stressing he was still under the impression of the recent, very constructive meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Mr Dusko Marković, held at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Alliance in Brussels. It is very important that by the end of 2015 it will have been decided on Montenegro's readiness to join the Alliance, but this decision depends on the development and progress Montenegro makes when it comes to thecontinuation of reforms invarious fields, Secretary General Stoltenberg added, confirming that NATO remains committed to the policy of open doors to all countries that meet the necessary criteria.

During the continuation of the plenary sitting, Michael Turner, US Congressman, was elected President of the NATO PA.

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopted the Resolution on Supporting Ukraine’s Sovereignty and Democracy, and the Resolution on Supporting the Wales Summit Capability Goals. In addition, the Resolution on Supporting the Afghanistan National Security Forces Beyond 2014 and the Resolution on NATO Reassurance and Support to Partners were also adopted.

60^th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, held from 21 to 24 November 2014 in The Hague, Kingdom of the Netherlands, was attended by 360 parliamentarians from 28 countries, including representatives of 23 countries with the status of associate members.