I would like to greet you on behalf of the Government of Montenegro and thank you for the opportunity to take part in the work of the Parliamentary Committee. This is the third time we meet in this format which, through the partnership between Montenegro and the EU, contributes to the accomplishment of our common goal – enlargement of the EU to the Western Balkans.

European integration is Montenegro's top priority. We are confirming it by dynamic implementation of reforms, inclusion of all actors of the society in this process and by broadening and strengthening the consensus of all political factors in this strategic objective.

This was best illustrated by the adoption of the Electoral Law, the first out of seven priorities in the EC Opinion. We have shown that Montenegro, despite the differences between the political parties, is able to come to a compromise through dialogue, even when it comes to the most sensitive issues. This also confirmed once again that the progress towards the EU membership is our shared political credo.

It would take a lot more time to enumerate all we have done in the recent period. I will remind you of chief results we made in fulfilling the key priorities in the Action Plan. The way it was prepared was a guarantee of our success. We have organized a wide debate for all structures of the society, with intensive consultations with the EC. In this manner we have made a good selection and order of priorities. The commitments from the EC Opinion are the center of all political and social activities in Montenegro.

We have continued completing the normative and strategic framework for the institutional and administrative capacities in order to establish a depoliticized, efficient and professional public administration.

In the rule of law area, we have innovated considerably the normative infrastructure and launched an initiative to amend the Constitution although it was not an explicit demand. It is an important precondition for strengthening the independence of judges and prosecutors from political influence. With the new way of election, the responsibility of those who hold judicial functions will be more visible. We have worked together with the experts of the EC and the Venice Commission. We expect that through these procedures all actors will demonstrate an adequate level of responsibility and confirm their political maturity so that we could bring this area in line with the European standards and practice.

The key challenge remains to be the preparation of institutions for fight against organized crime and corruption. The progress is tangible. We have adopted a new set of anti-corruption laws. For the first time, we have built our normative base on the European foundation. We have implemented GRECO Recommendations in the third round of evaluation by adopting the Law on changes and amendments of the Criminal Code. We have intensified the cooperation with Interpol, Europol, SECI Centre, law enforcement agencies in the EU Member States and other international partners. We have made a Map of Organized Crime and Assessment of Threats Posed by Organized Crime, which completed the strategic framework in this area and created basis for a more efficient fight against this global phenomenon. The most important is that track record shows constant tendency of growth. We have strengthened regional and wider cooperation in these areas.

We have significantly improved the quality of cooperation with the civil society, which, alongside with the state institutions, became an irreplaceable partner in defining the most important priorities, policies, implementation of commitments. This position of the civil society has been normatively regulated. We are valuing more and more the role of media. To this end, we have decriminalized defamation in Montenegro.

We are improving activities that lead to the understanding and promotion of differences, the essential change of the conservative society stereotypes and the eradication of all forms of discrimination. This will be supported by a wide range of legislative changes. We have formed the Council for the prevention of discrimination chaired by the Prime Minister. Montenegro was selected to be the first beneficiary of the Council of Europe project Fight against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, because of the perception that our country is truly and permanently committed to resolving the issue of discrimination against LGBT individuals.

The Government is working decisively on sustainable and permanent care of IDPs in cooperation with the EC and other international partners. To this end, we have adopted a Strategy with special focus on Konik Camp I and II in close cooperation with the EC and the UNHCR. We also expect positive effects of the two agreements Montenegro signed with Kosovo in the meantime. It will facilitate and accelerate the process of registration and regulation of their status in Montenegro and enable the return of persons who wish to do so. Montenegro is also an active participant of the Sarajevo process, which we expect to speed up considerably the resolution of this problem at the regional level in the period ahead of us.

We are fulfilling these and other commitments in a politically and economically stable environment. We have achieved a GDP growth of 2.5% in 2010. This trend continued in the first half of this year. The unemployment rate is constantly the lowest in the Western Balkans and is currently a little less than 11%. Montenegro is still the leader in the region in FDI per capita. Foreign trade exchange in 8 months was 15 % higher then in the same period last year, which indicates the tendency of the recovery of the economy. We have had an excellent tourist season. The number of tourists has increased by almost 9%, with growth in the length of stay and incomes from tourism which make around 20% of GDP.

Montenegro, recognized for its multiethnic harmony, is giving a strong contribution to the stability of the region. We have confirmed this by successfully chairing numerous regional initiatives. In the SEECP, during our presidency, we have adopted a Regional strategy for fight against organized crime and corruption, which is a unique example in Europe. Good-neighborly policy is our key priority and a precondition for further progress in the European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The progress of any country of the Western Balkans is positively reflected on the region as a whole.

We believe that our expectation that the EC Opinion for Montenegro on October 12 will be positive is a realistic one, and that the package for the other countries as well, will give a new impetus for region's path towards the EU membership. The date for the launching of the accession negotiations and the process of negotiations itself is far more important for Montenegro than the date of our membership. We see this as a chance for us to fulfill increasingly demanding commitments, alongside with the EC and the Member States, while the EU has all the mechanisms to dictate the dynamics of our accession to Brussels.

Allow me in conclusion to thank you for your continued support and point out that we highly appreciate the importance of cooperation with the Foreign Committee of the European Parliament i.e. its Delegation chaired by Mr. Eduard Kukan. Topics to be discussed in the following two days are of crucial importance for further progress and overall development of Montenegro.

I wish you a successful work and thank you for your attention.