Joint press point

Prime Minister Djukanovic,

it is a pleasure to welcome you to NATO HQ.

And I think that reflects the commitment of Montenegro and also the commitment of NATO to really work on what we have agreed on, related to the focus and intensified talks related to your aspiration to become a NATO member.

And the talks today have really reflected our shared commitment to support Montenegro on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration.

Montenegro has made real progress towards membership in NATO.

You have introduced substantial reforms.

You are a champion of regional cooperation.

And you have repeatedly shown that you share our values.

You continue to contribute to our efforts in Afghanistan through both financial and operational contributions.

And On behalf of the Alliance, I would like to thank you for your great contributions to our operation in Afghanistan.

We decided in Wales to open a period of intensified and focused talks.

And Foreign Ministers will address our progress by the end of this year, to decide whether to invite you to join the alliance.

Our meeting today is an important step.

It will allow us to assess reforms and look at what remains to be done.

It is a chance to show that you are delivering in areas such as the reform of the intelligence sector, strengthening the rule of law, and increasing public support for membership. 

Countries which joined the Alliance have been able to reinforce their democracy, boost their security and make the lives of their citizens safer.  Europe has become more stable.

And this is a real historic success.

Each country has the sovereign right to choose its own security arrangements.

We are pleased that Montenegro has made the choice to pursue NATO membership.

Prime Minister, I look forward to continuing our work in the months ahead.  

 

PRIME MINISTER ƉJUKANOVIĆ [interpreted]:

Dear Secretary General, first of all, thank you very much for organizing today’s meeting. Thank you very much for the useful suggestions that we’ve had during the meeting, and during your address here.

Ladies and gentlemen, today’s meeting was a chance to prolong a quality, continued dialogue that we’ve had between Montenegro and NATO. And as Secretary General has already mentioned, we have met several times already. But after the changes in the NATO alliance, this now has been the first chance for me to address the Secretary General in the headquarters of NATO, and to today to address NAC.

These are wonderful opportunities for us as responsible partners to discuss the content of our relations that are now marked by the intensified and focused talks, the main date for which was given to us at last year’s Summit in Cardiff.

As we have mentioned several times, the focus is still on the four key areas. And today we had the chance, or I had the chance, to inform the Secretary General and his assistants about our view of the progress that has been achieved. The focus remains on all four areas, but I think the focus, a bit more focus is now on the rule of law and the public support.

And that is why I’ve used this opportunity to inform the Secretary General of the results achieved on these issues. And, at the same time, to tell you about the optimism of myself and of Montenegro as a whole, that in the months to come, we are sure to meet the requirements of our partners. And we hope to be able to say that we are fully ready to take on the responsibility of a new NATO member.

We are very much encouraged by the words by the Secretary General that NATO remains committed to the Open Door policy and in a very constructive way, NATO values the work Montenegro has undertaken so far. And I believe that Montenegro, with its capacity, with its commitment, is able to produce the results that will finally qualify us for NATO membership.

I’ve informed the Secretary General about the, about how important it is that the Open Door policy has continued by NATO. It is extremely relevant for the Western Balkans. We believe that the issue of stability remains the key challenge for the Western Balkans. And equally we believe that integration is another name for stability of the Western Balkans.

So we believe that it is crucial that we continue the Open Door policy, in NATO, that pro-reform government, pro-reform public – not just in Montenegro, but also in the region as a whole – that timely and clear support that the implementation of comprehensive reforms must continue. Because this is how we will put conditions in place, not just for integration, but for a quality of life of the peoples in the region. And for the essential integration of the region into the civilization of the 21st century.

It was a pleasure for me to hear the assessment by the Secretary General, some of which he has shared here with you, that Montenegro is a positive example, not just formally but also essentially is a leader in the region, in terms of the quality and pace of the reforms taken.

And I also wish to take this opportunity and say that it is with great pleasure that we will continue being a partner to NATO. We’ll continue being a promoter of the system of Euro-Atlantic values in that part of Europe. And I believe in a few months, a fully-fledged member of NATO.

QUESTION (BOBJEDA NEWSPAPER): The question is for Mr Stoltenberg. You mentioned in this statement the issue of public support issue is very important in intensified dialogue. I was wondering – can you send a message to Montenegrin people from this place, from the headquarters of NATO – why is it important for Montenegro to become the member of NATO? What are the benefits?

SECRETARY GENERAL: The benefit of enlargement of NATO, I think we have seen that clearly over a long period of time. Because we have seen that enlargement of NATO has been a great historic success. And it has taken place over many years, and we have increased the numbers of countries that are part of the Alliance, substantially especially since the end of the Cold War.

And the enlargement of NATO has contributed to stability, to peace, to the security of the people in the countries that have joined NATO; and also to increased living standards, because peace and stability has also promoted economic growth.

And this will of course also be the advantage for Montenegro. It is up to Montenegro and NATO to decide whether Montenegro is ready to join the Alliance, but the purpose of the intensified and focused talks is to enable Montenegro to join. And therefore I welcome the progress which we have seen in Montenegro. And the enlargement of NATO has been a great political success. And therefore I think also it is important for us to discuss and to work on how we can go further and make progress also related to Montenegro.

QUESTION (MONTENEGRO NATIONAL TV):  I have a question for Mr Stoltenberg. How do you assess the current focused dialogue between Montenegro and NATO?

SECRETARY GENERAL: Well, my assessment is that we have made a lot of progress – NATO and Montenegro together. Montenegro has made progress when it comes to key areas as, for instance, the rule of law, reform of the intelligence sector, reform of defence. This is of great importance. I welcome and I commend Montenegro for the progress. I think it just underlines that it was important and it was the right decision to take to launch the focused and intensified talks.