President of the Republic of Montenegro

March 01, 2010

President Vujanovic with the European Union Ambassadors

President of Montenegro Filip Vujanovic attended today the regular semi-annual meeting with the ambassadors of the European Union in the organization of the Delegation of the European Union and the embassy of the Republic of Italy which holds the acting Presidency of the European Union on behalf of Spain.

President Vujanovic after the introductory address, held talks with the ambassadors of the European Union on European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Montenegro, the current situation in the Western Balkans region and effects of the world economic crisis.

We have posted President Vujanovic’s introductory address in full.

Dear Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I express my high appreciation to all of you. I would like to thank Ambassador Leopold Maurer and Ambassador Sergio Barbanti, who have, on behalf of the European Union and the Spanish Presidency,offered me the opportunity to speak about the European integrations that have been of great importance for Montenegro and on the top of its agenda.

I would like to present the most important reasons for Montenegro’s joining the EU. I would point out four main reasons why Montenegro should be the EU member state.

The first reason - by becoming a member of the EU, Montenegro will share common values as achievement of the modern European society. These are, above all, respect of human and minority rights, the rule of law, fight against organized crime, protection of the principles of democracy, respect of equality and pluralism, safeguarding of tolerance and solidarity. The EU ensures these values to its citizens, without internal borders. Montenegro already shares these common values with the European Union; it has achieved most of its standards and has done a lot in meeting the remaining ones. The best evidence of these achievements is a fast dynamics for the EU membership. The rapid progress of Montenegro in its integration process confirms that the common European values have been shared by our society.

The second reason is the quality of the living standard of the citizens of Montenegro. Better quality of the standard of living significantly depends on the EU membership, through the access to the single market, intensive and free trade, more efficient allocation of resources within the Union, reduction of interest rates and significantly higher inflow of foreign investments. Single market guarantees free movement of people, goods, services and capital. Increase in trade brings general benefits and improves economic growth. Consumers are offered a wider range of products, while competitivness of local products with the products from other EU member states leads to reduction in prices and increase of the product quality. This will strongly encourage Montenegrin economy to improve its production and business activities. Solidarity of the Union in solving economic issues also guarantees a sustainable quality of the living standard.

The third very important reason is a wide support of the citizens of Montenegro for the EU membership. Each public opinion poll shows that our citizens strongly support the European integrations and that such support has been constant. The best move of the European Union is visa liberalization that has allowed Montenegrin citizens to travel to Schengen countries without visa, thus increasing rating and credibility of the European integrations. Moreover, it should be noted that in Montenegro there is a political consensus among all parliamentary parties on Montenegro’s membership to the EU. Given that it is a rare, perhaps a single case that all political parties agree upon, we can rightly say that Montenegro is on the right track.

Finally, Montenegro, with its general characteristics- area, geographic position, population, overall natural and economic resources, history, tradition and culture and achieved level of reforms - makes a system that can easily be placed in a much bigger system of the European Union with almost 500 million inhabitants. With the accession to the EU, political and diplomatic rating of a country rises not only in Europe, but also at the global level. The EU membership will open the door for Montenegro to represent its interests more efficiently and more successfully on equal footing in accordance with set procedures.

***

When it comes to the EU enlargement model concerning the Western Balkan countries, all facts speak in favour of the individual treatment of each country. It is also the most efficient way for improvement of the reform and political processes in the region. Adoption of the European standards is very important for Montenegro, particularly those leading to further reforms of the society in general. Dynamics of the accession to the EU depends on us. It is up to us how soon we will become the EU member state. I would like to say once more that it is more important for us to ensure the EU standards and values here in Montenegro as soon as possible, and then it is up to the enlargement policy of the EU to formally accept Montenegro in its family of nations.

Thanks for your attention.

Views: 300