At today’s session, the Government adopted the Information on Key Findings from the European Commission Annual Report for Montenegro 2021, prepared by the European Integration Office. Beside the analysis of key scores, the information contains a comparative trend of annual progress compared to 2019 and 2020.
In the annex to the information, the European Integration Office provided a summary of the key challenges identified by the EC Report, which will serve as a base for drafting the Government’s Plan for Implementation of European Commission Recommendations in Its Competences, with a clear focus on improved involvement.
“This year’s report, which covers the period June 2020 – June 2021, has a medium grade, and it has approximate findings as well as the reports from the previous two years. The analysis of the European Integration Office shows that this year’s European Commission Report has the best general assessment of readiness so far, while when it comes to measuring annual performance, good progress is recorded in 2 chapters, some progress in 17 chapters, limited progress in 13 chapters and only one chapter has not made any progress“, said the newly appointed Deputy Chief negotiator, Dragana Markovic, presenting the analysis.
“A worse trend is noted in the area of judicial reform, and that will be the key to the continued success of the EU negotiation process.”
She underlined that the Report states a clear political commitment of the Government to achieving the strategic goal – EU membership, but also that in the Political Criteria it calls on all three branches of government to a higher level of engagement and responsibility in the direction of rule of law reform.
As she explained, in this year’s report, for the first time, findings are given for negotiating chapters in relation to the known as thematic clusters defined through the New EU Accession Methodology.
“The Cluster of Basic Chapters, in addition to the rule of law, puts a particular focus, among other things, on economic criteria. The key principle of the whole further progress in the process remains the need to fulfill temporary benchmarks in Chapters 23 and 24, “Markovic said.
GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO
SECTOR FOR INFORMING THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE EU AND THE EU ACCESSION PROCESS