Thewesternbalkans
Hungary finds that Montenegro is ready for the membership in the EU and that it can close ten negotiation chapters during the Hungary’s presidency over the Council of Europe, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Peter Szijjarto.
Speaking at the press conference in Budapest, following the meeting with Minister of European Affairs of Montenegro Maida Gorčević, he underscored that the plan is to organize the Intergovernmental conference by the end of December in order to close ten negotiation chapters.
Thus, according to Szijjarto, this would give a new momentum to Montenegro’s EU accession.
“We need to restore trust in the EU enlargement process, and the requirements that the candidates must meet are clearly defined. The results of one country cannot be compared with another, rather a merit-based principle must be applied in regard to new candidate countries”, said Szijjarto.
Szijjarto remarked that the EU needs the Western Balkans more than the Western Balkans needs the membership in the Union.
Comment: Montenegro is the Western Balkan country that has advanced the most on its path to EU accession. Successive pro-Western governments have aligned fully with the EU’s foreign and security policy, including sanctions on Russia, which have left a huge footprint in the Montenegrin economy. Relations with neighbors, including EU member Croatia, are generally positive.
Оn the other hand, Montenegro faces some serious challenges such as fighting corruption and organized crime.
For its part, Hungary has always clearly stated its strong support for the rapid accession of Serbia and Montenegro to the EU.
