Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with Montenegrin Prime Minister Spajić

Thank you very much, Prime Minister, dear Milojko,

I am very glad that I can finish my annual tour of the Western Balkans here in beautiful Montenegro. I always get a very warm welcome, it was the same this year, and I really appreciate it. I think I can really feel how passionate the Montenegrin people are about the European idea. Therefore, it is wonderful to be here. Montenegro is very advanced on the accession path. And it is great to hear, dear Milojko, that you will deliver on your ambition. You have wider and more ambitious goals, that is good. I am confident that you will again, together with the Montenegrin people, deliver on these goals. All of this, what you have achieved during the last year, is the result of hard work and efforts from the whole country. So, I think you have reasons, good reasons, to be very proud of what you have achieved. We are now closing one chapter after another. Four could be closed still this year. You can make it all the way if you keep the focus on the accession goal and if all political forces in the country rally behind it. And it was very encouraging for me to listen to your plans of building a platform to convene everybody, so they can rally behind this common goal.

I want to assure you that, like in my first mandate, enlargement will be at the top of the political agenda for the next five years. We now have all the necessary tools and instruments in place. So let us make it happen, let us make it a reality and work towards this common goal. In this context, I would like to highlight two initiatives.

The first one is our Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. It is designed to bring the region's economies closer to ours and to gradually integrate your regional market into the European Single Market. You know the approach. We are basically opening the door to the European Single Market for specific sectors so that Montenegrin companies can access the Single Market. For that, we need a level playing field, so we need reforms. And these reforms will be accompanied by additional European investments. It has been a year since we have started with that idea, and most of the Western Balkan countries have their reform agenda ready, so does Montenegro. You have done a great job on your reform agenda. I really want to also thank the teams that have been working tirelessly on this reform agenda. It has been very well received. Now we should be able to start the pre-financing of EUR 27 million for Montenegro still this year. Overall, Montenegro will receive more than EUR 380 million under the Growth Plan. The Plan will deliver very concrete results. For example, as you said, you are already on a good track to become part of the Single Euro Payments Area next year. It means that transfers of money between Montenegro and the European Union will be faster, more secure and free. It will benefit of course the citizens and the companies of Montenegro, and it is a big step forward.

The second initiative I want to   Montenegro, the Plan has already mobilised more than EUR 2 billion of investment. Montenegro is transforming into a key energy hub. It is amazing to see that. We are also investing in clean transport for better connectivity across the region and with Europe. This includes railway lines connecting your capital to the Serbian border and to Tirana. I also want to mention the renovations we are funding for schools and kindergarten, a very beautiful investment project, because we are basically literally investing in the next generation of Montenegro.

Dear Milojko, I also want to mention Montenegro's new Security Operations Centre. It is a cutting-edge cybersecurity centre that protects your public sector from attacks, like the one you suffered from in the summer of 2022. The European Union has co-financed the new Security Operations Centre. We are joining forces in this fight against cyberattacks. And I will be visiting and inaugurating the new premises in a moment, right after this press conference.

Prime Minister, to conclude, thank you again for welcoming me to Podgorica. The people of Montenegro want a European future. And we want to finally bring our continent and our people together. Let us make it happen. I am very much looking forward to the good work that we have ahead of us.

Thank you.

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