PM Dancila: Romania welcomes Montenegro's progress with EU membership negotiations

Romania's Prime Minister Viorica Dancila welcomed on Wednesday, at the end of talks with her Montenegrin counterpart Dusko Markovic, Montenegro's progress with European Union membership negotiations, reaffirming Romania's determination to further support the enlargement process based on the principle of individual merits. "With regard to the European path of our Montenegrin partners, we reaffirmed our determination to further support the enlargement process based on the principle of individual merits. We welcome Montenegro's progress under the negotiation process with the European Union and note that Montenegro has opened 32 of the 33 chapters for negotiation (...) Montenegro can offer the entire region the success story of a country capable of transforming society in a rapid and efficient manner, implementing the full set of reforms needed to join the EU (...) In order to successfully complete this complex process, I reiterated to my counterpart the fact that Romania stays engaged in offering its friends in Montenegro any kind of necessary technical assistance," Dancila told a joint news conference with Markovic at Victoria Palace. She added that defence cooperation is an important topic of discussion for two NATO member states. "We noted the progress made by Montenegro since the historical moment of joining the North Atlantic Alliance in June 2017. (...) We conveyed the Romanian side's readiness to receive Montenegrin cadets at the Mircea cel Batran Naval Academy," said Dancila. She said that they agreed to organise a Romanian-Montenegrin business forum later this year. "We also discussed energy security in our region, which is of paramount importance to stability and prosperity in South-Eastern Europe. We indicated to the Montenegrin counterpart Romania's goal of diversifying the supply routes for gas and electricity and the sources of energy supply to the European Union and the Western Balkans region, including the development of the BRUA [Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria] project. We agreed on the continuation of consultations between Transelectrica and the Montenegrin electricity transmission company to identify a formula for co-operation. Agriculture is another key area in our relationship. I proposed to my counterpart co-operation in food processing, as well as an exchange of experience among the research institutes of the two countries (...) I told my counterpart that the Romanian side has completed the internal procedures necessary for the signing of a social security intergovernmental agreement," said Dancila. AGERPRES (RO - author: Dana Piciu, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)