site.btaEU Enlargement, Western Balkans in Focus of Vice President Iotova's Meetings in Montenegro

19 POLITICS - VICE PRESIDENT IOTOVA - MONTENEGRO - MEETINGS

EU Enlargement, Western Balkans
in Focus of Vice President Iotova's
Meetings in Montenegro


June 28 (BTA Special Correspondent Nelli Zheleva) - EU enlargement and the Western Balkans were in the focus of Vice President Iliana Iotova's series of meetings held in the Montenegrin capital on Friday.

After meeting with Montenegro's President Milo Djukanovic, Iotova said that Bulgaria is the best lobbyist for the Western Balkans' EU membership. "In all the meetings, I assured them that they can expect a consistent policy on our part," the Bulgarian Vice President said.

Iotova noted that it was important for her to hear all the Montenegrin institutions' recognition of what Bulgaria did a year ago, which was to place the Western Balkans' EU accession in the spotlight of its EU Council Presidency. "One year later, this topic continues to be on the agenda, albeit not in the way we would all like it," she said, stressing the importance of how the future high-level EU positions and political priorities will be distributed, as well as keeping EU enlargement on the agenda.

As expected, Bulgaria is very well aware of the situation in the Western Balkans and unconditionally supports the European perspective of all countries from the region, President Djukanovic said. According to him, stability and the Western Balkans' European perspective are integral and in the interest of both the region and Europe as a whole.

The Western Balkan countries received a powerful impetus towards the EU and became visible thanks to Bulgaria, said Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic during his meeting with Iotova earlier in the day.

Markovic said his country will insist on Bulgaria becoming a regular member of the Berlin Process initiative during the Summit in Poznan. In his words, Bulgaria posesses the abilities and the vision for the Western Balkans' development. Countries in the region should not go as a package through the EU enlargement process, he added.

Chairperson of the Committee on International Relations and Emigrants of the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Nikolic, told Bulgarian journalists that redrawing Balkan borders could be an unpopular decision. Montenegro believes that work should be focused on peace and security in the region, he added.

Nikolic said he expects that, as a friend of Montenegro, Bulgaria will continue to support his country's efforts to join the EU, on the one hand, and act as a serious lobbyist in the EU when it comes to enlargement policy, on the other. According to him, each country should join separately and not as a package. Montenegro has opened 32 chapters, three of which are temporarily suspended. Nikolic said his country is so far ahead in the EU accession negotiations, that it is a leader among candidate countries.

Montenegro's Foreign Minister Srdan Darmanovic and Iliana Iotova agreed that postponing the start of negotiations for North Macedonia's and Albania's EU accession is a bad sign for the countries in the Western Balkans and erodes trust in the EU.

Darmanovic has asked the Bulgarian Vice President to keep enlargement policy on the EU's agenda. IG/MY