Presenting the European Commission report on the progress made by Balkan countries on their path to the European Union (EU), European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said that Montenegro’s key obligation is to strengthen the rule of law and establish a political consensus of all political actors.

Varhelyi said the priority for Montenegro’s further overall progress in negotiations is the fulfilment of the interim benchmarks set under Chapters 23 and 24, that is, that Montenegro needs to intensify its efforts to address outstanding issues, including the critical areas of freedom of expression and media freedom, fight against corruption and organized crime, and credibility of the judiciary.

The European Commissioner told the media in Brussels that the political actors in Montenegro need to finally understand that they depend on one another, and that without cooperation there will be no results in the process of accession to the EU.

Varhelyi said he does not believe that Montenegro signing the Fundamental Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) negatively affected the reform process in the country or the European Commission report, but noted that, in the past three years, Montenegro has not made progress towards the EU