Podgorica, (MINA) – The European Commission’s (EC) latest non-paper on the rule of law chapters shows that Montenegro has made progress in all areas, said Chief EU Negotiator Predrag Zenovic, adding that the strengthening of all judicial institutions is evident.

 

Speaking at a press conference presentating the Non-Paper for Chapters 23 and 24, Zenovic said that it is an affirmative, positive document.

 

“It is clear that progress has been noted in all areas, we have the strengthening of all institutions that make up the rule of law system”, said Zenovic.

 

He said that, despite certain shortcomings and room for improvement, the overall assessment has a dual strategic importance.

 

“First it confirms that Montenegro’s ambition to close Chapters 23 and 24 is realistic and that the country remains on a right track regarding technical chapters”, said Zenovic.

 

foto: MINA

 

State Secretary at the Ministry of European Affairs, Biljana Papovic, said that Montenegro received the most positive assessment of the rule of law in recent years.

 

“According to the EC’s evaluations, most key reforms have been initiated, and institutions are increasingly delivering measurable results”, stated Papovic.

 

She noted that the first and most important message was that Montenegro had continued to progress towards meeting the final benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24.

 

“Montenegro has succeeded in consolidating the work of key judicial institutions, in the fight against corruption and organized crime, so the focus of reforms is increasingly shifting from the adoption of legislation to its consistent implementation and delivering concrete results”, Papovic added.

 

She added that structural improvements in judiciary were especially recognized, as well as the continuation of strengthening of institutional and strategic framework in the area of fight against organized crime.

 

Head of the negotiating working group for Chapter 23 Jelena Grdinic said she was encouraged by the fact that all the reforms were nearing completion.

 

“Therefore, we believe that it is more than realistic that this negotiation chapter will be closed by the end of the year”, stated Grdinic.

 

Head of the working group for negotiation chapter 24 Jovana Mijovic said that the fight against organized crime through cooperation with Europol and Eurojust demonstrated unprecedented flow of information between institutions.

 

She added that the actions of the security system in combating organized crime were praised.