Brussels, 29/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - In Brussels on Tuesday 29 March after a meeting with the prime minister of Montenegro, Milo Dukanovic, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said: “The fight against corruption at all levels and against organised crime remains the single most important priority”.
He added that “Montenegro is a front runner in the enlargement process”, in terms of Western Balkans countries preparing to join the European Union. Of the 35 negotiating chapters, 22 have been opened, including energy and transport in December 2015 (see EUROPE 11458). Tusk approved of the closing of the taxation chapter, but said “Montenegro's EU ambitions require consensus across the political spectrum”. He praised the country's participation in the EUNAVFOR Atalanta mission to combat piracy along the Somalian coastline and pointed out that the country had been invited to join NATO, which demonstrated its potential contribution to the Euro-Atlantic peace strategy. He said he would be attending the celebrations of the tenth anniversary of Montenegro's independence.
Dukanovic expressed “gratitude for huge support from EU to achieve standards” (Ed: EU standards). He said Montenegro's economy was growing faster than the Western Balkan average thanks to foreign direct investment. The euro is already used in Montenegro. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)