May 17, 2018 - Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, was the host for Western Balkans Summit under the organization of and guided by the sidelines of the European Union. The representative from Montenegro that attended this summit was Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic, who, on this occasion, met German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel.
This is the first summit of such in last 15 years, and the Montenegrin Prime Minister and Angela Merkel agreed on the great importance of this summit and used this opportunity to exchange views on the European Union’s perspective as well as Montenegro’s role and the Western Balkans’ role. The German Chancellor welcomed the constructive role of Montenegro in this region.
The two discussed the results of the Montenegrin European Union integration process so far, which was contained in this year’s European Commission Report on Montenegro. Chancellor Merkel also commended the progress Montenegro made so far, but she added that a particular focus is needed in the area of the rule of law and freedom of the media.
Prime Minister Markovic informed Chancellor Merkel that the government has an agenda to respond to all the challenges and create a political and social climate for the period ahead.
He added: “This is the moment when we need more money, but more capacity as well. The Government is set to tackle these challenges quickly and efficiently. Ensuring freedom of the media and protecting journalists are fundamental values. We will do our best to achieve this.”
As the conclusion of this summit and the agenda the meeting was focused on, both sides underlined the importance of the next meeting under the auspices of the Berlin Process that will be held in London in July, which will be a new opportunity to summarise the results in achieving the planned goals.
