PM Dancila meets head of Montenegro's Parliament to reiterate Romania's support for Montenegro's European journey

On an official visit to Montenegro on Thursday, Romania's Prime Minister Viorica Dancila had a meeting with Chairman of the Montenegrin Parliament Ivan Brajovic.

According to a government press statement, Dancila reiterated Romania's support for the consolidation of the European path of Montenegro by advancing the pro-European reforms, and underlined the importance of the Montenegrin legislature in the accession process, especially by securing an effective lawmaking process.

"Prime Minister Viorica Dancila emphasised the need for active participation of all political forces and relevant Montenegrin civilian actors in the creation through dialogue of the widest possible political base to support the achievement of Montenegro's legitimate EU accession goal."

At the same time, Dancila assured of an open and constructive attitude on the part of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019 in support of the European accession of Montenegro, and of the full availability of the Romanian Parliament for this process.

She congratulated the chairman of the Montenegro Parliament on success achieved by Montenegro with NATO membership, a strong effort sustained by the local parliament as well.

"The prime minister stressed that Montenegro has an ally and a real friend in Romania and welcomed the country's contribution to NATO's missions and activities," according to the Romanian government.

The prime minister also addressed a number of issues on the bilateral agenda: "intensifying high-level political dialogue, including within the Parliamentary Friendship Group and the relevant bodies of the two parliaments; boosting sectoral co-operation by identifying new opportunities of mutual interest and the establishment of economic cooperation platforms; strengthening co-operation between institutions of the two countries; providing expertise in European affairs, and collaboration in regional formats."

"With regard to regional issues, both parties highlighted the contribution of the parliamentary dimension to the preparation of the Western Balkan countries included in the EU enlargement process, in order to meet the necessary criteria for accession on the basis of their own merits."

The government added that, at the end of the talks, Dancila extended an invitation to the chairman of the Montenegrin Parliament to visit Romania.

Also attending the meeting were members of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Romania. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Florea, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)