Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2016-03-09-Speech-3-585-000"
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"en.20160309.35.3-585-000"2
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"Mr President, 2016 is a very important year for Montenegro politically. As it approaches its 10th anniversary since independence, the country is not only going to the polls in parliamentary elections, it is also in the process of crucial negotiations regarding its accession to NATO following its invitation to join the alliance last year.
Montenegro continues to progress well, and has now opened 22 chapters including the key ones of 23 and 24, and 2016 will see the opening of further chapters and hopefully the provisional closing of others. As both the Commission report and the resolution as adopted in committee note, corruption and organised crime continue to be of concern, along with some aspects of media freedom, but the situation is generally improving and progress is being made. We are seeing an increased number of charges brought against those involved in high-level corruption, and the work of the Special Prosecutor’s Office is beginning to establish itself. With the launch of the Anti-Corruption Agency on 1 January this year I am encouraged by the increase in state resources that have been made available to tackle these issues. But of course there are some concerns as to the administrative capacity of such institutions in terms of their financing and these need to be addressed. But we must remain conscious of the financial constraints facing a very small country like Montenegro, which already gets some specialist assistance from neighbouring former-Yugoslav countries already in the EU, like Slovenia and Croatia.
Very much to its credit, Montenegro has been a leading example in aligning its foreign policy with that of the EU’s CFSP and its Member States, and it has clearly demonstrated its ability to interact competently with its partners on such issues. Montenegro bravely fully aligned itself with the EU on the sanctions regime against Russia following the annexation of Crimea despite its economic ties with that country, and works in close cooperation with the European Union in tackling international Jihadi terrorism.
There will be much talk in the year ahead of the need for a referendum regarding NATO membership. My position as rapporteur is clear in that I believe this is an internal matter for Montenegro and not something that we in the EU should be interfering with. That being said, however, we should be aware of the wider context of the debate and the external influences that are being brought to bear on tiny Montenegro.
In summary, I am very happy with the resolution before us today and I am pleased that we have been able to work constructively across the political groups to agree to this in the committee. I always say that Montenegro is the good news story of the Western Balkans, but with the added current pressure that the migration crisis has brought to the entire Western Balkans region, Montenegro is increasingly seen as a beacon of stability too."@en1
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