The President of Cyprus, Nikos Hristodulidis, pointed out that Montenegro occupied a special place in the agenda of the Cypriot presidency.
“Montenegro was the first country I visited in the context of preparations for taking over the presidency of the Council of the European Union, and we achieved three intergovernmental conferences. First, four chapters were closed, which is of particular importance, and an ad hoc working group for the drafting of the accession agreement was also established, the first such group formed in the European Union after 16 years,” said Hristodulidis.
He assessed that during the Cypriot presidency, a clear European perspective was restored to the accession process of the Western Balkans.
“Through our work, we gave a perspective to the Western Balkans accession process and confirmed the importance of enlargement as a geopolitical tool,” said the President of Cyprus.
The President of the European Council, Antonio Košta, said that the positive momentum in the enlargement policy was created by the progress of Montenegro and Albania, as well as by the successful summit of the European Union and the Western Balkans held in Tivat.
“We are progressing very quickly with Montenegro. We have reason to believe that it is possible to finish all negotiations by the end of this year,” Košta said.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, assessed that the Cypriot presidency successfully motivated the candidate countries to speed up reforms.
“What made the Cyprus presidency so successful was the encouragement of the candidate countries to implement the necessary reforms, but also the rewards in the form of opening clusters or chapters, and even closing chapters,” Von der Leyen said.
According to her, the European Union sends a clear message that results are recognized and rewarded.
“There is a clear message – the goal is in sight for some of them. This is extremely motivating for all candidate countries and proof that merit is rewarded,” said the president of the European Commission.
