11. 01. 2021. 00:00   >>  16:17 0

KORDIC ASSESSED

The benchmark for EU membership to be 2025

The benchmark for Montenegrin institutions should be 2025 as a framework for membership set in EU strategic documents, which means that by the end of 2023 all the Acquis Communautaire must be transposed into domestic legislation, and institutions capable of implementing it, the chief negotiator with the EU Zorka Kordic said in an interview with Pobjeda.

According to her, this is also the strategic commitment of this Government, to ensure the internal readiness of the country for membership by the end of its mandate.

Montenegro, which is now, as she reminded, the only candidate country with all open chapters, will place in 2021, according to Kordic, "a strong emphasis on meeting the remaining provisional criteria for chapters 23 - Justice and fundamental rights and 24 - Freedom, justice and security ".

"In parallel with the joint efforts of all three branches of government in reforming the rule of law, our negotiating structure will work together with the European Commission to define concrete actions to obtain final benchmarks. This will enable the European Commission to prepare an appropriate report and present it to EU member states. The adoption of a report on the fulfillment of the provisional benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24 by the EU Council will certainly encourage the gradual closure of all other chapters”, Kordic said.

Speaking about the new methodology of negotiations with the EU, Kordic says that it opens more space for political dialogue with candidate countries and the possibility of participating in the work of EU working bodies together with member states on the topic of various sectoral policies.