EU wil dat Montenegro werkt maakt van verbeteren openbaar bestuur en het rechtssysteem (en)

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 26 June 2013 UE-ME PRESSE 296

Fourth meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council between the European Union and Montenegro

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

• 1. 

  The EU-Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Council (SA Council) held its fourth meeting on Wednesday 26 June 2013. This meeting was chaired by Mr Igor LUKSIC, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro, who also led the delegation of Montenegro. Ms Lucinda CREIGHTON, Minister for European Affairs of Ireland, led the European Union delegation (on behalf of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton i). Mr Stefan FÜLE i, Commissioner responsible for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, represented the European Commission
• 2. 

  The SA Council warmly welcomed the fact that the screening process was progressing well, and that so far two negotiating chapters had been opened and provisionally closed. In addition, it welcomed the fact that Montenegro's working groups for the negotiating chapters included representatives of the civil society and stressed the importance of ensuring the inclusiveness of the reform process in order to achieve the necessary progress in the accession negotiations
• 3. 

  The SA Council reviewed the state of Montenegro's preparations for accession,

starting with the political criteria. It was noted that, in line with the new approach for the chapters on judiciary and fundamental rights and justice, freedom and security, both areas were being addressed early on in the negotiations. In this regard, the SA Council reiterated that Montenegro needed to pay particular attention to the development of a solid track record in the area of rule of law, in particular with regard to organised crime and corruption cases, including at high level. It also stressed the need to devote further efforts to ensure the accountability and independence of the judiciary. The SA Council noted that following endorsement of the recommendations in the screening reports for chapters on judiciary and fundamental rights and justice, freedom and security by the Council, Montenegro had been invited to prepare the required Actions Plans, which constitute the opening benchmarks for both chapters. The SA Council welcomed the fact that both chapters were being addressed early in the negotiations, and the priority given by Montenegro to developing the Action Plans

The SA Council welcomed the professional and efficient administration of the presidential elections, which had been held on 7 April 2013, while recalling the need to follow-up on the OSCE-ODIHR recommendations. In this regard, the SA Council welcomed the decisions taken by the Montenegrin parliament to establish a working group to this effect, as well as actions under taken for the judicial and political follow-up of the "Audio Recording Affair". The SA Council also encouraged Montenegro to complete the on-going constitutional reform in order to strengthen the independence and accountability of the judiciary in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission

The SA Council then considered a number of areas related to the political criteria, including the public administration and judicial reforms, the fight against corruption and organised crime, the protection of human, civil and political rights as well as of social and economic rights, the defence of the rights of LGBT persons, the protection of women's rights, gender equality, and the situation of displaced persons. The SA Council generally welcomed the progress made and encouraged Montenegro to build upon this progress to further advance its reform process

The SA Council commended Montenegro for its strong commitment to regional cooperation and its constructive role in maintaining regional stability. It also welcomed the active participation of Montenegro in numerous regional initiatives in South Eastern Europe and the good neighbourly and bilateral relations it entertained with other enlargement countries and EU Member States. The SA Council encouraged Montenegro to continue working towards finding mutually acceptable solutions to the pending border issues with other countries of the Western Balkans

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• 4. 

  Concerning the economic criteria, the SA Council welcomed the fact that despite a difficult economic context, Montenegro had managed to broadly preserve its macroeconomic stability, with an economic policy focussed on the stabilisation of the economy and the public finances through consolidation of its fiscal system and its banking sector. The SA Council also welcomed Montenegro's efforts to further develop the country's potential in energy and power interconnections with countries in the region
• 5. 

  The SA Council welcomed the progress made by Montenegro in aligning its legislation and capacity with European standards and in implementing its commitments under the trade and trade-related provisions of the SAA. In this regard, the SA Council welcomed the good progress made in the areas of transport policy, statistics and science and research, whilst encouraging Montenegro to pursue efforts in other areas, such as free movement of goods, free movement of workers, free movement of capital, company law, food safety, veterinary and phyto-sanitary policy, taxation, environment and climate change, and financial and budgetary provisions, where progress needed to be intensified. It also noted that further progress on quality standards, veterinary and phyto-sanitary controls was necessary in order to fully benefit from trade concessions under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. The SA Council noted that Montenegro's administrative capacity needed to be strengthened in view of accession negotiations and to ensure effective implementation of the acquis

The SA Council particularly encouraged Montenegro to ensure that the reform momentum in the area of the judiciary and fundamental rights would be maintained. It recalled that further efforts were needed to strengthen the capacity, accountability and integrity safeguards within the judiciary. The SA Council welcomed the analysis for the rationalisation of the judicial network as a basis for further reforms. Furthermore, it encouraged Montenegro to step up efforts with a view to further developing its track record of investigations, prosecutions, final convictions, and effective sanctions in corruption and organised crime cases. The SA Council also noted that the legal and institutional framework for the protection of fundamental rights had been further strengthened, and encouraged Montenegro to address existing shortcomings in the protection of human rights by judicial and law enforcement authorities, and in particular to obtain results in investigating and prosecuting cases of threats and violence against journalists. Furthermore, the SA Council encouraged Montenegro to address the new challenges in the field of justice, freedom and security arising in the framework of accession negotiations and to continue putting particular emphasis to the fight against organised crime

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• 6. 

  The SA Council reviewed the situation as regards pre-accession financial assistance, which is provided by the EU through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IP A). It noted that 70.76 % of the IPA funds 2007-2012 for Components I (Technical Assistance and Institution Building) and II (Cross Border Cooperation) had been contracted at the end of December 2012, of which the programmes 2007-2010 had been or were about to be fully contracted . The SA Council welcomed the finalisation of the Operational Programmes under IPA Component III (Regional development) and IV (Human resources development) and encouraged the finalisation of the IPA programme for Component V (Agriculture and rural development). The SA Council welcomed the finalisation and timely submission of the application packages for the conferral of management for IPA Components I, II, III and IV. The SA Council encouraged Montenegro to complete its preparations for the decentralised implementation for IPA Component V, and to continue its efforts for the strategic planning of the IPA support for the period 2014-2020
• 7. 

  The SA Council then examined the state of bilateral relations under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). It welcomed in this regard the recent agreement, at technical level, on a Protocol to the SAA in order to take account of Croatia's accession to the EU. The SA Council also welcomed Montenegro's positive track record in implementing its obligations under the SAA, including its trade related provisions, since its entry to force in 1 May 2010 while noting that some improvements were necessary with regard to State aids, where further efforts towards alignment were needed

The SA Council noted that Montenegro was actively participating in a number of EU programmes, and welcomed the recent signature of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Lifelong Learning Programme, which allowed Montenegro to participate in the centralised actions of the Programme. The SA Council warmly encouraged Montenegro's participation in further EU programmes and Agencies in the future

• 8. 

  Finally the SA Council had an exchange of views concerning recent developments in the Western Balkans region

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