State Secretary for European Integration and Chief Negotiator Aleksandar Andrija Pejović is paying an official visit to Bulgaria, where he will hold several high level meetings with Government officials in charge of European affairs, and he will participate at the international conference entitled “Facing the past, looking to the future.”
On day one, Ambassador Pejović held separate meetings with Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov, Deputy Foreign Minister Rumen Alexandrov, and Director of the Diplomatic Academy Tanya Mihaylova, and visited the Interior Ministry and the Energy Ministry.
The meetings served as an opportunity to exchange opinions on the progress made and future dynamics of Montenegro’s EU integration.
At his meeting with FM Mitov, Ambassador Pejović voiced Montenegro’s gratitude to Bulgaria for its assistance in the EU accession process, both in the field of developing administrative capacities for assuming membership obligations and by sending experts for concrete acquis areas. He informed his interlocutor of the current moment in the accession process, putting a special emphasis on the rule of law reforms. He underlined Montenegro’s strong commitment and determination to maintain the good pace of the accession process.
Minister Mitov congratulated Montenegro on its EU accession results. He especially welcomed the efforts on meeting the conditions from the new approach. He underlined that Bulgaria will continue monitoring reforms processes and added that it supports Montenegro in its progress towards Union membership. Mr Mitov noted that the Western Balkans needs to continue its reforms in accordance with Commission recommendations. All countries have an equal opportunity for membership, and Montenegro has certainly made huge progress, Mr Mitov has said.
In that context, the two officials discussed the possibility of intensifying cooperation and making it more concrete under the framework of the Memorandum on Cooperation in the areas of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, especially in the area of legal harmonisation, exchange of experience, development of diplomatic skills, and work in the Chapter 15 on Energy. Both sides noted the excellent bilateral cooperation between the two countries, as well as Bulgaria’s support to Montenegro’s integration processes.
During the meetings at the ministries of interior, economy, and energy officials exchanged opinions on key tasks and challenges in negotiating chapters 15 and 24 and they discussed possibilities to make cooperation in these areas more concrete. Officials considered the possibility of transferring Bulgarian negotiation experience in these chapters by sending experts and hosting trainings. At the meeting with Diplomatic Institute Director Tanya Mihaylova, Mr Pejović discussed possible cooperation between the two academies, especially with the view to hosting specialised trainings aimed at improving Montenegro’s administrative capacities and exchange of experiences between the two negotiating teams.
