Pahor and Đukanović: Slovenia will support Montenegro on its EU path

PODGORICA, (Patria) - Slovenia will continue to advocate for the European perspective of the region, and Montenegro, which is a model of a stable state, will be supported on its European path, said Slovenian President Borut Pahor during a meeting with Montenegrin President Milo Đukanović in Podgorica. 

Pahor said that Montenegro is a very positive surprise when it comes to negotiations with the European Union (EU).

"Montenegro is a model of a stable state. We congratulate you on how the negotiations are going. The goal must be reached, and we will help with that, as friends of Montenegro," Pahor said.

According to him, EU enlargement to the Western Balkans is a geopolitical issue. According to some estimates, in the next five years, the political will for EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, due to the Union's problems, will be weaker.

"Our visionary approach to the EU will help this part of the Western Balkans be seen as a whole and an attraction, rather than some kind of fear. We will all benefit from progress," he said, adding that the Union must keep the enlargement issue on the agenda, if not at the very top.

At the summit at the end of June, Pahor noted, progress for Albania and North Macedonia can be expected.

"There is a lot of work ahead of us, but we will continue to advocate for the European perspective of the region," he said.

Đukanović said that Montenegro is very interested in ensuring that the enlargement policy does not fall by the wayside.

"But no matter how interested we are, we cannot ensure that if the majority of EU member states do not think so," Đukanović stressed. As he pointed out, it is very important that Slovenia, as an EU member and a country with a special sensitivity for the Western Balkans, thinks that way.

Commenting on the relations between Montenegro and Slovenia, he said they are excellent and that it is a contact between two peoples who share a common tradition, know each other, and want to help each other.

Đukanović thanked Pahor for his very persistent policy of supporting the European perspective of Montenegro and the rest of the Western Balkans.

"That is expected, given the closeness we have. Relations between Montenegro and Slovenia have never been interrupted, and over the past 30 years they have been improved," he said.

Đukanović and Pahor agreed that there are no open issues between Montenegro and Slovenia, and that there is practically no area in which the two countries do not already have developed relations.