The EU Ambassador to Montenegro, Oana Cristina Popa, spoke about the importance of receiving positive Interim Benchmark Assessment Report marks in chapters 23 and 24, within the “IBAR – key to EU membership” campaign, which is implemented by the Ministry of European Affairs.
She emphasized that the achievement of IBAR was a phenomenal, incredible teamwork, at all levels, vertically and horizontally, at the technical, political and diplomatic level.
“The Montenegrin side, the EU Delegation, all Montenegrin institutions, the negotiation team, and in Brussels – our outstanding colleagues from DGNEAR, ambassadors in COREPER, and now ministers in the Council of the EU, all worked together in an unprecedented display of unity, in order to achieve this historic moment for Montenegro”, said Popa.
Ambassador Popa added that the most important thing about IBAR, which has not been talked about enough, is that IBAR is the first for Montenegro, but it is also the first for the European Commission.
“This has never been done before. Because, on the one hand, a new conditionality, a new methodology was introduced, and at the same time, Montenegro is the first candidate country to go through this process”, said Popa.
She said that IBAR is important because without IBAR the candidate country, according to the New Accession Methodology, cannot move forward.
“If you want, think of it as a video game. You can’t go to the next level until you finish the previous one! Therefore, IBAR is necessary, but not sufficient. IBAR is definitely not the end! In fact, it is a new beginning, but it opens the way to endless possibilities to speed up the process of joining Montenegro to the EU,” explained Popa.
