During the day, Mr. Krivokapić had meetings with its highest state officials. At the Meeting with the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Mr. Josip Leka, President Krivokapić congratulated on successful closing of the negotiations as well as on the status of full-fledged member to the European Union that the Republic of Croatia is to gain on the 1 July of this year.

“Such success of Croatia is an incentive for the whole region, especially for Montenegro, which is the only country in the Western Balkans that is currently in the negotiation phase with the European Union” Mr. Krivokapić said. He emphasized that experiences of the Croatian Parliament would be a good marker for the Parliament of Montenegro in searching the proper model for the challenges that the negotiation process carried with itself. Interlocutors discussed various models of exchange of experiences, which would additionally contribute to connecting of the region in its efforts to present its authentic interests as successfully as possible in Brussels. Mr. Krivokapić thanked Mr. Leka on actual help that Croatia provided Montenegro with in the previous course of the EU integration, thus showing that it was sincere partner and friend of Montenegro.

Mr. Krivokapić also met with the Croatian Prime Minister, Mr. Zoran Milanović, and they talked on achieved level of cooperation between Montenegro and Croatia. They especially referred to Croatian experiences during its negotiations, primarily regarding chapters 23 and 24. President Krivokapić emphasized that the rule of law was the greatest expression of maturity of a society, and that was the reason why the challenges that these chapters carried would be the most demanding part of our negotiations. Interlocutors assessed mutual relations as extremely well and stressed that additional cooperation is needed in specific areas, primarily in the area of business and tourism.

At the Meeting with the President of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Ivo Josipović, interlocutors agreed that mutual relations of Montenegro and the Republic of Croatia were going upwards and that historical bonds of the two countries could be a strong stimulus to integration processes of Montenegro. Mr. Krivokapić pointed out that Croatia is a lighthouse of the Western Balkans in those processes.

“The EU and the NATO are key foreign-policy priorities of Montenegro, and we expect that the Republic of Croatia will be, as it has been so far, a reliable ally and partner which will help Montenegro on its path towards full-fledged membership. Mr. Krivokapić and Mr. Josipović also talked on current political context and key challenges that the countries of the Western Balkans were facing with. In that context, it was jointly stated, that relations of Montenegro and Croatia were a successful example of the regional cooperation and desirable model that the future regional partnership should be built on.

President Krivokapić also met with members of the Committee on European Integration of the Croatian Parliament, and they talked on obligations that this Committee had been facing with in the previous process of the European integration of Croatia. The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Daniel Mondekar, emphasized that the inner parliamentary consensus on European future of the country was a strong stimulus to the efficiency of the parliamentary work and all its working bodies in meeting European obligations. On this occasion, Mr. Krivokapić acquainted interlocutors with the fact that the Parliament of Montenegro had established a separate Committee on European Integration, in order to provide an efficient parliamentary response to the challenges coming from the negotiation process.

In accordance with the usual practice, President Krivokapić met with the representatives of Montenegrin emigrants in Croatia, and talked with them about the activities of their associations and the need of additional strengthening of connections between Montenegro and its emigrants.