24 July 2019 - Over the past period, significant progress has been made in joining the EU, but instead of slowing down, the negotiating structure has new tasks and activities to intensify reforms that will lead to the completion of accession negotiations, it was estimated at the meeting of the Negotiating Group, reported the Office for European Integrations of Montenegro.
The twentieth session of the Negotiating Group, chaired by Chief Negotiator Aleksandar Drljević, was held today in Podgorica.
Members of the Negotiating Group discussed the current and planned activities of the negotiating structure aimed at fulfilling the final benchmarks and the implementation of recommendations from the European Commission's Montenegro 2019 Report.
Chief Negotiator Aleksandar Drljević assessed that a large number of obligations and significant results were achieved in the previous period, but that additional efforts are needed in the forthcoming period in order to maintain the dynamics and quality of the process, and, above all, to further improve the standard of living.
"It is the right moment is to intensify reforms in the negotiation process, because Montenegro entered the final stage of the negotiations, which will be completed by opening chapter 8 - Competition. After the elections and a new organization in EU institutions, we have received confirmation that Brussels' commitment to enlargement to the Western Balkans remains unchanged, which gives us additional motivation to engage and dedicate ourselves to our part of the job," the Chief Negotiator stressed.
Bearing in mind that Montenegro is entering the mature phase of the negotiation process which requires the highest commitment of all members of the negotiating structure, it is determined to respond effectively to all the requirements of the process. In this context, the negotiators pointed out that in July, the work and meetings of the Collegium for Negotiations, the Rule of Law Council, Negotiating Group and 32 negotiating working groups were intensified, the recommendations from the EC Report were reviewed, as well as a detailed plan of activities of all bodies for the upcoming period. In order to intensify reform activities and accelerate the negotiation process, the working groups actively monitor the activities that lead to meeting the final benchmarks and recommendations from the EC Report.
Furthermore, members of the Negotiating Group discussed the findings of the working groups which expressed disagreement with the individual evaluations from this year's EC Report and pointed out that the Group will inform the European Commission about this.
With the aim of better promotion of the negotiation process and presentation of the achieved results and further obligations in the accession to the EU, more active participation of the members of the Negotiating Group was agreed in activities aimed at improving the information of citizens about the EU and the negotiation process, through more active cooperation with local self-governments, academic and business community and civil sector.
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