President. − The next item is the Council and Commission statements on the enlargement report for Montenegro.

  Nicolai Wammen, President-in-Office of the Council. − Mr President, let me start by acknowledging and welcoming Parliament’s support for the efforts undertaken to advance Montenegro’s prospects for EU integration. In particular, I welcome your rapporteur, Charles Tannock’s, continuous balanced and positive contribution.

There is strong public support for Montenegro’s EU integration as well as national consensus on this objective among the political parties. This has enabled the country to work systematically with the reform efforts. In December last year, both the Council and the European Council welcomed the Commission’s assessment that Montenegro has achieved overall satisfactory results, notably with regard to the key priorities set out by the EU in 2010.

With a view to opening accession negotiations by June this year, the European Council has tasked the Council to examine Montenegro’s progress in implementing reforms. Among the focus areas are the rule of law, fundamental rights, the fight against corruption and organised crime. The Commission is now preparing a report on the implementation, which it will most probably present in May.

Montenegro has achieved a high degree of compliance with the membership criteria. The country has progressed towards establishing a market economy and strives to live up to the obligations under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Montenegro’s relations with its neighbours are very good and Montenegro has been actively involved in a number of regional initiatives, such as the Southeast European Cooperation Process which Montenegro chaired in 2010 and 2011.

Montenegro has also been actively involved in the Sarajevo Process on finding a solution for the refugees and internally displaced persons in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia following the conflict in the 1990s.

However, Montenegro still has some way to go. It has to continue its reform efforts and ensure full implementation, especially concerning the rule of law. Progress in this area is particularly needed when it comes to internally displaced persons, media freedom, implementation of anti-discrimination policies and independence of the judiciary. We look forward to the conclusions of the constitutional reform which will enhance independence of the judiciary.

Progress in the fight against corruption and organised crime will also be key to the advancement of Montenegro in its EU integration process. I am convinced that we will see progress in these areas and that Montenegro’s accession process will provide further positive momentum in the Western Balkans. With the historic agreements in the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade, the decision of 1 March 2012 to grant candidate status to Serbia and the ongoing smooth ratification process of Croatia’s Accession Treaty, strong signals have been sent by the EU to the region and this will hopefully encourage neighbouring countries and regions to make the right political choices.

If these reform efforts in Montenegro continue at the same pace, it is my hope that this will be possible, and that we can agree to open accession negotiations with Montenegro in June. We in the Danish Presidency will work closely with Parliament and the Commission to achieve that.

  Štefan Füle, Member of the Commission. − Mr President, it is a great pleasure and honour for me to address the European Parliament today for the debate on the resolution on the 2011 progress report on Montenegro. I would also like to express my warm gratitude and congratulations to the rapporteur for Montenegro, Charles Tannock, on his excellent report.

The decision of the December European Council is a fair recognition of the progress the country has made over the five years since its independence, and in particular since December 2010 when it was granted European Union candidate status. This decision has opened the door towards the start of accession negotiations.

Key to this success was the determination of the Montenegrin authorities to conduct ambitious reforms, together with the active involvement of the parliamentary opposition, civil society and the media. I am positive that this broad national consensus on the country’s European integration is a major asset for Montenegro. It will facilitate its continued steady progress towards the European Union.

I met the Montenegrin Prime Minister, Igor Lukšić last week. His determination to pursue the reform process and commitment to sustained progress in the country’s European Union agenda are commendable.

I am further encouraged by our shared understanding that the opening of accession negotiations will not mark the end of a process, but the beginning of a long and demanding journey.

As acknowledged in Mr Tannock’s report, Montenegro has made significant progress so far, but needs to deploy further efforts in the area of rule of law, in particular in the fight against corruption and organised crime. The track record of final convictions, notably for high-level corruption and organised crime, needs to be substantially increased and all alleged cases thoroughly investigated. In line with the 2006 renewed consensus on enlargement, we know the importance of addressing these issues as early as possible in the accession process.

The new approach for the negotiation chapters – 23 on the judiciary and fundamental rights, and 24 on justice, freedom and security – will allow them to be opened early in order to give Montenegro sufficient time to produce a solid track record in the fight against organised crime and corruption. As I am speaking to you, the first explanatory phase of the screening of Chapter 24 is taking place, while the one on Chapter 23 took place earlier this week.

A further important milestone for Montenegro will be the finalisation of the ongoing constitutional reform, in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, in a spirit of consensus and constructive dialogue with the opposition parties. This will provide a solid guarantee for the independence and accountability of the judiciary.

Compliance with European standards in the field of human rights and minority rights is also of crucial importance, in particular regarding freedom of expression and anti-discrimination. The recent attack against an investigative journalist is unacceptable and needs to be thoroughly investigated, along with past cases of violence and vandalism directed against the media.

Further efforts are also needed to strengthen anti-discrimination policy, in particular from the aspect of gender equality and the effective protection of minority rights. Efforts to increase the number of legally registered displaced persons also need to be actively pursued.

The responsibility for addressing these outstanding challenges lies with Montenegro and its capacity to maintain the pace of reforms and ensure their effective implementation. The Commission will continue to support Montenegro’s efforts on its path towards the European Union through financial and expert assistance.

  Charles Tannock, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, Montenegro as a candidate country remains a relatively straightforward country in terms of monitoring its progress towards EU accession, and, in this case, small is beautiful. Montenegro has worked hard to address the criteria and benchmarks set by you as Commissioner in seven key priority areas, namely improving the work of its parliament and the electoral framework, professionalism within the administration of Montenegro, independence of the judiciary, fighting corruption, combating organised crime, ensuring media freedom and cooperation within civil society. Montenegro – to its credit – was admitted to the World Trade Organisation in December last year. WTO accession will inevitably help Montenegro build a competitive and dynamic modern economy.

This signals Montenegro’s integration into the world economy as well. The major political Copenhagen criteria issues, which include inter-ethnic relations, gender, religious, ethnic and disability discrimination, the repatriation of IDPs, independence and transparency of the judiciary, and freedom of the media, are very fully covered in my resolution. As a country with outstanding natural beauty, tourism plays a major role in Montenegro’s economy as well. Protecting the environment from the building of hydroelectric dams and energy policy transparency are therefore natural priorities for the Montenegrin Government.

My current resolution on Montenegro’s progress also focuses on the economy. By freeing up the country from too much red tape and bureaucracy, this will encourage business and promote growth through foreign direct investment.

Montenegro is also well known as a champion of better regional cooperation with its immediate neighbours, and its achievements in this area include resolving an outstanding small border dispute with Croatia and leading the fight against organised crime in a region which sadly has too much of it. Last year it successfully concluded bilateral extradition treaties with Serbia, Macedonia and Croatia. In short, Montenegro is a good news story and it is hoped that the negotiations will now start in June of 2012 for EU accession.

  Gay Mitchell, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, I would like to thank Charles Tannock for this report.

Sometimes I think that, when we look back on this period of history, people will not just look at the economic turmoil but they will look at the fact that the Berlin Wall came down suddenly and miraculously in 1989; and here we are, with 10 new Member States such a short time after that, talking about Montenegro joining the European Union, given the recent history of the former Yugoslavia. This is indeed miraculous and it is what we need in Europe and is what the whole foundation of Europe was about from the very beginning.

I welcome this. I welcome the progress that has been made by Montenegro in the way they have addressed this issue so far, but the European Union is open to any European country which is a democracy and can take on the responsibilities of membership.

I raise this issue only because it is a difficult issue for smaller Member States. At some stage we have to again look at the institutional issues. Can we continue to expand in the way we are expanding, for example, and have a Commission with an ever-increasing number of Commissioners? In my country the answer to that is ‘Yes’, because small countries guard this with great jealousy. But if this question is to be addressed – and I am sure it is on the agenda somewhere – let it be addressed in such a way that it is not a power grab by large Member States. This is the one place where Member States, irrespective of their size, have equality, and I would ask the Commissioner to keep that in mind.

I do welcome the progress that has been made and it is great to see that the reasoning behind the origins of the European Union is still alive and well, and that we are broadening and deepening and making this continent a stable place for the future and a place where we can conduct our affairs in a more united way internationally.

  Göran Färm, för S&D-gruppen. – Herr talman! Tack till Tannock. Han har skapat en väldig bred enighet runt det här betänkandet och det tror jag är väldigt viktigt.

Det är glädjande att EU:s medlemsstater nu startar sina anslutningsförhandlingar med Montenegro. Det är en stark signal om EU:s engagemang för hela västra Balkans framtid i EU.

Det är också viktigt att kandidatländerna verkligen bedöms enbart på sina egna meriter och på sina framsteg med att uppfylla anslutningskriterierna. Resolutionen är väldigt tydlig på detta område.

Montenegro förtjänar beröm för sitt engagemang, den konstruktiva rollen när det gäller att bidra till regional stabilitet och goda förbindelser med sina grannar, och de har gjort framsteg, stora framsteg, det har Tannock pekat ut, med att uppfylla de nyckelprioriteringar som kommissionen har fastställt tidigare, men fortfarande finns det en hel del kvar.

Reformarbetet kommer att kräva en stark politisk vilja att ta itu med tuffa utmaningar, särskilt de som handlar om rättsstatsprincipen och kampen mot korruption, smuggling och organiserad brottslighet. Där finns det väldigt mycket kvar att göra och att verkligen lyckas med det kommer att vara viktigt för hela anslutningsprocessen.

Men en anslutningsprocess är inte bara en angelägenhet för regeringar och parlament. Hela samhället måste ställa om, och därför måste Montenegro också stärka dialogen med det civila samhället, med arbetsmarknadsparterna och med fackföreningarna. Mediafriheten måste säkerställas.

I mitt ändringsförslag till plenum uppmanar jag Montenegro att grundligt utreda de fall av våld och hot mot journalister som har inträffat och visa sitt engagemang för fria medier.

Till sist jämställdheten – här finns väldigt mycket att göra när det gäller att på allvar ta itu med problemet att kvinnor är kraftigt underrepresenterade på viktiga positioner i Montenegro. Även detta måste förändras.

Jag ser fram emot att kunna välkomna Montenegro som EU-medlem så snart anslutningskriterierna är uppfyllda. Sedan är det också upp till oss i EU att göra vårt jobb med att t.ex. utveckla föranslutningsprogrammet IPA så att det på allvar ger det stöd som länder som Montenegro behöver för att kunna anpassa sig till en framtid i EU.

  Ivo Vajgl, v imenu skupine ALDE. – Jaz sem mislil, da ste kot liberalec, gospod predsedujoči, namenoma ustavil uro zato, da lahko govorimo nekaj dlje.

Rad bi se zahvalil gospodu Tannocku kot poročevalcu za izvrstno sodelovanje, tudi za sodelovanje z vsemi ostalimi poročevalci v senci.

Dobra novica za Črno goro in za nas je, da se bodo pogajanja končno začela in to v začetku junija.

Dovolj razlogov je za to, da verjamemo, da je Črna gora dobro pripravljena. Vzpostavljena je tudi kohezivnost v družbi o cilju Evropski uniji.

Pozitivno je dejstvo, da začenja Črna gora z enim od najtežjih poglavij, s poglavjem 23.

Črna gora je uspešno izvedla vrsto reform, ki jamčijo izpolnjevanje pogojev po acquisu. To velja za reformo pravosodja, za ustvarjanje učinkovitih institucij za boj proti korupciji, ki je tudi v tem Parlamentu privlačila pozornost mnogih kolegov poslancev.

Velja poudariti pozitivno vlogo Črne gore pri regionalnem sodelovanju.

Tudi jaz mislim, kot poročevalec, da je dogovor s Hrvaško, da odprto vprašanje Prevlake predajo v presojo Haaškemu sodišču, rezultat zdrave in pametne odločitve.

Pozdravljamo tudi ukrepe črnogorske vlade, ki hočejo zagotoviti sodobno in stvarno svobodo izražanja, preprečiti napade na novinarje, in ki bodo zagotovili demokratično tolerantnost, ko gre za manjšine vseh vrst v družbi.

Nekatere od teh zadev so za črnogorsko družbo nove, so pa nujne in zagotovo dobrodošle.

Čas je da majhna, neskončno lepa dežela z bogato zgodovino in kulturo odločno stopi proti združeni Evropi.

  Ulrike Lunacek, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group I would also like to thank Mr Tannock for a very good report and the constructive cooperation we had in order to reach compromises. Also on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, I would like to welcome the clear support this Parliament is going to give tomorrow to the European Union starting negotiations with Montenegro. This is an important step forward. It is also one step to keep up this enlargement momentum that we now have with Croatia, with candidate status for Serbia, and with dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia going ahead.

Yes, Montenegro is ready and is doing quite well. Many of the amendments that we tabled have been accepted, or have been voted in the Committee on Foreign Affairs: on environment, on large-scale dams. That was very positive, but still there is one thing that is very problematic in Montenegro and that is the corruption problem. It has been addressed by several colleagues, especially concerning the privatisation processes. State-owned companies – aluminium, telecom, electricity – there were large-scale protests just recently in Podgorica against this, and the government really has to look into this and move ahead. In addition, the threats against investigative journalists, mentioned by Mr Färm and also by Commissioner Füle, are not isolated cases and the government really has to step up its support for freedom of the media.

One last issue: the law on financing of political parties. Implementation of that law has been largely delegated to the State Electoral Commission, and do you know who that is composed of? Representatives of political parties. That is simply not the way to control financing of parties and I think changes are still needed there.

Let me end on a very positive note, on LGBT issues. Here, there has been progress in Montenegro recently and I would like to add one aspect of regional initiatives. Montenegro and the government have just recently held a regional conference on lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender rights with Croatian, Serb and Kosovo representatives. That is a good thing.

  Νικόλαος Χουντής, εξ ονόματος της ομάδας GUE/NGL. – Κύριοι συνάδελφοι, είμαι υπέρ της ένταξης του Μαυροβουνίου στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση όπως και άλλωστε όλων των χωρών των Δυτικών Βαλκανίων, εφόσον ο λαός το επιθυμεί, εφόσον οι πολιτικές δυνάμεις συμφωνούν.

Όμως πιστεύουμε πως αυτή η διαδικασία, οι ενταξιακές διαπραγματεύσεις, θα πρέπει να αποτελέσει την αφορμή να λυθούν προβλήματα οικονομικά, κοινωνικά, δημοκρατικά, προβλήματα δικαιωμάτων προς όφελος του λαού. Με αυτή την έννοια η έκθεση έχει τέτοιες θετικές προτροπές, ιδιαίτερα στην καθιέρωση ενός σύγχρονου δημοκρατικού κράτους και στην αντιμετώπιση του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος. Έχει όμως δύο σημεία που - με την ευκαιρία ότι η περίπτωση του Μαυροβουνίου είναι από τις πιο εύκολες που έχουμε στα Βαλκάνια - θα ήθελα να τα τονίσω, λέγοντας ότι δεν συμφωνούμε να τίθενται τέτοια ζητήματα ή με αυτόν τον τρόπο.

Το πρώτο θέμα είναι ότι συμψηφίζει την ένταξη στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση και στο ΝΑΤΟ. Το ΝΑΤΟ όπως ξέρετε είναι ένας προβληματικός οργανισμός και ιδιαίτερα σ' αυτή την περιοχή δεν έχει την καλύτερη φήμη, μιλάω στην περίπτωση της γενικότερης Βαλκανικής, ενώ το δεύτερο σημείο έχει να κάνει ότι ουσιαστικά προτρέπουμε σε οικονομικές λύσεις, όπως π.χ. ξένες επενδύσεις, ελαστικοποίηση της εργασίας, που είναι σίγουρο (υπάρχει υψηλή ανεργία στο Μαυροβούνιο) ότι θα επιδεινώσουν την κατάσταση των εργαζομένων.

Επομένως, εάν μπει με τέτοια κριτήρια το Μαυροβούνιο, θα κατεβάσει το γενικό επίπεδο οικονομικής και κοινωνικής στάθμης στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση. Θα ήθελα να μην υπήρχαν αυτά τα σημεία στην έκθεση του συναδέλφου.

  Monica Luisa Macovei (PPE). - Mr President, over the past year Montenegro has made progress in judicial reform. The backlog of cases in the courts has been reduced and measures to reinforce the independence, accountability and efficiency of judges and prosecutors have been adopted. But these are all on paper and in legislation. Enforcement is the most important element, the key issue and it is the most difficult to achieve.

If we look at the last 20 years in the post-Communist countries, the most difficult reforms were the reforms of the judiciary and the measures to enforce the fight against corruption. In the area of the fight against corruption, legislation has been reinforced by adopting a new public procurement law, the law on funding political parties and a law on conflicts of interest.

Once again, implementation is the key issue and the test of the success of all this adopted legislation. Further efforts are needed to ensure a predictable and efficient judicial system and to restore public trust. Here I would like to give two suggestions: jurisprudence must be unified – justice must not be a lottery – and all judgments must be made public.

In the fight against corruption, the Montenegrin authorities must focus on high-level corruption cases. This is the test of the judiciary and of the political class. We need, and the people of Montenegro need, a strong and convincing track record of final convictions in high-level political cases.

Catch-the-eye procedure

  Elena Băsescu (PPE). - Muntenegru a realizat progrese concrete în cele şapte domenii prioritare identificate de Comisia Europeană în urmă cu un an. În acest context salut şi eu decizia Consiliului European privind deschiderea negocierilor de aderare cu această ţară în iunie 2012. Consider că astfel vor fi încurajate reformele în toate statele din regiune, demonstrând că progresele interne sunt un element fundamental pentru reuşita procesului de integrare europeană.

Solicit totodată autorităţilor din Muntenegru să continue eforturile în special în domeniul justiţiei, în combaterea corupţiei şi a crimei organizate. În acest context consider că este oportună noua strategie a Comisiei de a deschide capitolele 23 şi 24 la începutul negocierilor. Subliniez totodată nevoia de măsuri suplimentare pentru a îmbunătăţi situaţia romilor, inclusiv prin elaborarea unei noi strategii naţionale în domeniu.

  Eduard Kukan (PPE). - Poďakovanie a kompliment Charlesovi Tannockovi za jeho líderstvo pri príprave tejto správy, ale aj za jeho nezlomnú podporu v procese integrácie Čiernej Hory. Uznanie patrí aj tieňovým spravodajcom. Čierna Hora dosiahla hmatateľný pokrok v integračnej agende. Dosahuje dobré výsledky v procese spoločenskej transformácie a reforiem, týka sa to tiež siedmych známych priorít Európskej komisie. Tieto procesy treba ďalej podporovať.

Zostáva, samozrejme, mnoho problémov, najmä v oblasti vlády práva, boja proti organizovanému zločinu a korupcii, spolupráce štátu s občianskou spoločnosťou a sloboda médií, ale aj tu už sú vidieť výsledky. Ide o dlhodobé procesy, pre ktoré má Európska únia inštrumenty počas prístupových rokovaní. Čierna Hora je na západnom Balkáne šampiónom na ceste do Európskej únie a je aj faktorom regionálnej stability. Mali by sme ju preto v tomto úsilí ďalej podporovať.

  Bernd Posselt (PPE). - Herr Präsident! Montenegro ist ein eindeutig europäisches Land. Ein Land, das der älteste neuzeitliche Staat auf dem Balkan ist, mit großer slawischer, aber auch albanischer Kultur, ein Begegnungsort zwischen Christen und Muslimen. Die Minderheiten sind traditionell sehr gut geschützt. Das heißt, trotz vieler Probleme, die es noch gibt, befindet sich Monenegro meiner Ansicht nach auf einem sehr guten Weg, den wir massiv unterstützen sollten. Deshalb begrüße ich den ausgezeichneten Bericht von Charles Tannock und glaube in der Tat, dass ein montenegrinischer Kommissar und montenegrinische Parlamentarier auch eine Bereicherung für diese Europäische Union wären. Das Land könnte so etwas werden wie eine Art Luxemburg des Balkans.

  Štefan Füle, Member of the Commission. − Mr President, let me conclude my remarks by reiterating my congratulations to the rapporteur, Charles Tannock, for his informed contribution to today’s political debate. I am confident that this resolution sends the right message to Montenegro: one of both acknowledgement of the hard work delivered so far and strong encouragement to pursue the reform process with determination.

Montenegro is very close to opening accession negotiations. I am positive that, with the strong commitment of its people and our joint support, Montenegro will continue to set a positive example in the region by moving ahead in its European integration efforts. In line with the recent European Council conclusions, the Commission will present an interim report this spring on Montenegro’s progress in the implementation of reforms, in particular in the area of rule of law and fundamental rights. The report will especially look into continued progress on the seven key priorities since the adoption of our 2011 progress report. Should the report indicate further progress, the launching of accession talks by the Council in June would confirm the credibility of the enlargement process as a whole.

  Nicolai Wammen, formand for Rådet. − Hr. formand, ærede medlemmer, hr. kommissær! EU har givet Montenegros borgere håb om en fremtid i EU. Det er en fremtid og et ønske, som nu er inden for rækkevidde. I Montenegro er der bred national enighed om ønsket om EU-medlemskab, og det er imponerende, hvor meget Montenegro på kort tid har opnået i bestræbelserne på at komme tættere på EU.

Som led i det danske EU-formandskab besøgte jeg selv landet den 21. februar i år. Her oplevede jeg en reformvillighed og et stærkt engagement fra landets side. Man har på kort tid gennemført mange og vigtige reformer, bl.a. for at opbygge en mere effektiv retsstat og for at sikre borgernes grundlæggende rettigheder. Det er reformer, som er i både Montenegros og EU's interesse.

Alt det er godt, men der er forsat behov for fremskridt, især hvad angår bekæmpelse af korruption og organiseret kriminalitet. Jeg ser i den forbindelse frem til Kommissionens næste fremskridtsrapport, som vil vurdere de mange reformtiltag.

Vi har i dagens debat været inde på en række af de områder, hvor reform er påkrævet. Der er bred enighed mellem EU og Montenegro om de områder, som det er relevant at arbejde videre med, og det er glædeligt. Montenegros fremtidige reformarbejde bør især fokusere på færdiggørelsen af forfatningsreformen, bekæmpelse af organiseret kriminalitet og korruption samt effektiv gennemførelse af den lovgivning, der er vedtaget, navnlig på områder som finansiering af politiske partier og antidiskrimination.

I den forbindelse ser vi frem til færdiggørelsen af arbejdet med forfatningsreformen, som vil styrke domstolenes uafhængighed. De kommende reformer vil uden tvivl præge befolkningernes dagligdag og stille store krav. I den forbindelse er det vigtigt, at landets administrative kapacitet forsat styrkes. Det kan bl.a. ske med bidrag fra EU's instrument til førtiltrædelsesbistand, som hidtil har gjort god gavn i Montenegro.

Med en lille og åben økonomi er også Montenegro blevet ramt af krisen, og som andre steder i Europa vil der være udsigt til lav økonomisk vækst og arbejdsløshed. Også af den grund er det vigtigt, at Montenegro gennemfører en politik til fremme af erhvervslivets vækstbetingelser. Der er allerede sket fremskridt på Montenegros vej mod en markedsøkonomi, og yderligere reformer vil styrke denne udvikling.

Jeg er overbevist om, at Montenegro fortsat vil gøre sit bedste for at leve op til forpligtigelserne i stabiliserings- og associeringsaftalen. Fremskridt inden for EU-integration er som bekendt meritbaserede. Det er glædeligt, at Montenegro allerede har opnået en høj grad af efterlevelse af medlemskabskriterierne.

Når landene i EU's integrationsproces leverer, så skal EU gøre det samme. Det er mit håb, at vi under et dansk formandskab i juni kan indlede tiltrædelsesforhandlingerne med Montenegro. De fremskridt, vi forventer i forbindelse med Montenegros EU-integration, vil naturligvist først og fremmest være til gavn for Montenegro selv; men jeg er overbevist om, at fremskridtene også vil være med til at give et positivt momentum til de andre Balkanlandes bestræbelser på at nærme sig EU. Det er derfor en sag, der er vigtig for Montenegro, for Balkan og for EU. Det er en sag, hvor det danske formandskab vil arbejde tæt sammen med Europa-Parlamentet og med Kommissionen for at opnå de resultater, som vi er enige om skal til, til gavn for Montenegro og til gavn for Europa.

  President. − I have received one motion for a resolution⁽¹⁾ tabled in accordance with Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure.

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place tomorrow (Thursday, 29 March 2012).

Written statements (Rule 149)

  Corina Creţu (S&D), în scris. – Muntenegru a făcut progrese substanţiale în procesul de integrare europeană, reuşind să îndeplinească într-o mare măsură criteriile pentru aderare, prin punerea în practică a unor importante reforme structurale. Există însă şi câteva probleme pe care autorităţile de la Podgoriţa au datoria de a le trata cu maximă seriozitate. Mă gândesc, în primul rând, la necesitatea combaterii criminalităţii organizate şi la respectarea libertăţii presei. Se impun anchete obiective şi prompte în toate cazurile de atac împotriva jurnaliştilor. Ne îngrijorează totodată subreprezentarea gravă a femeilor în poziţii decizionale şi nerespectarea drepturilor muncii pentru femei. Acestea sunt expresii evidente ale încălcării egalităţii de gen. Nu în ultimul rând, Muntenegru are obligaţia de a implementa soluţii sustenabile pentru problemele celor 15 000 de refugiaţi ce se găsesc pe teritoriul ţării.