The consistent support <\/b>of Greece <\/b>in Montenegro\u2019s accession process <\/b>toward the European Union<\/b>, Foreign Minister, George Gerapetritis<\/b>, following his meeting <\/b>in Podgorica with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, Ervin Ibraimovi\u0107<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Mr. Gerapetritis <\/b>stated that he had the honor of being received by Prime Minister Miloiko Spaji\u0107 and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, while thanking Mr. Ibrahimovi\u0107 for his warm words toward Greece and toward him personally. He emphasized that Greece\u2019s support for Montenegro is not an obligation, but conscious political choice<\/b>, aimed at further developing relations between the two countries and facilitating Montenegro\u2019s path toward European integration.<\/p>\n
The Minister of Foreign Affairs<\/b> praised the efforts of the Montenegrin government and, personally, those of Mr. Ibrahimovi\u0107 for promoting the necessary reforms, noting that Montenegro\u2019s accession to the European Union will be mutually beneficial<\/b> both for the country itself and for the EU<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Referring to the 20th anniversary of Montenegro\u2019s independence, he emphasized that this is a significant milestone for the country and its people, while noting that Greece and Montenegro are linked by traditional bonds<\/b> of friendship, mutual respect, and shared historical references.<\/p>\n\u201cHigh Level of Bilateral Relations\u201d <\/h3>\n
Mr. Gerapetritis<\/b> emphasized that today\u2019s discussion confirmed the high level of bilateral relations and the significant scope for further cooperation in many areas. He also emphasized that the two countries, as NATO allies and neighbors, have a common interest in promoting<\/b> peace, security, and prosperity in Southeast Europe.<\/p>\n
He placed particular emphasis on Montenegro\u2019s European perspective, noting that Greece conveys not only its own support but also a broader message of solidarity on behalf of the European Union. At the same time, he congratulated the country on hosting the EU\u2013Western Balkans Summit, at which Greece was represented<\/b> by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister\u2014a fact which, as he said, demonstrates the importance Athens attaches to the region\u2019s European perspective.<\/p>\nThe accession of the Western Balkans to the EU is a strategic choice <\/h3>\n
The Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the accession of the Western Balkans to the EU is a strategic choice that will contribute to stability<\/b>, peace, and development in a region that has experienced serious turmoil and conflicts in the past.<\/p>\n
At the same time, he welcomed the progress Montenegro has made in meeting the accession criteria, while making special mention of the country\u2019s full alignment with the European Union\u2019s Common Foreign and Security Policy, describing it as a significant achievement<\/b> that demonstrates the convergence of views on international security issues.<\/p>\n
As he noted, the launch of the process to draft Montenegro\u2019s Accession Treaty constitutes a substantial recognition of the progress that has been made and confirms the country\u2019s position<\/b> as a pioneer in the Western Balkans\u2019 accession process. He also expressed the hope that the transition from the negotiation stage to full accession will accelerate in the near future.<\/p>\n\u201cGreece will continue to provide expertise\u201d <\/h3>\n
Mr. Gerapetritis <\/b>reiterated that Greece will continue to provide expertise and support on issues of reform and the integration of the European acquis, recalling that since the Thessaloniki Agenda in 2003<\/b> Athens has consistently been one of the strongest supporters of the European perspective for the Western Balkans.<\/p>\n
In this context, he also referred to the Delphi Declaration, noting that in view of Greece\u2019s presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2027, Greece is committed to keeping the issue of enlargement toward the Western Balkans high on the European agenda. In fact, described as a \u201cmajor goal\u201d the possibility<\/b> that Greece would welcome Montenegro as a new EU member state during its presidency.<\/p>\n
A significant portion of the talks was also devoted to bilateral relations. The Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that the two sides discussed the further development of economic cooperation in the areas of trade, tourism, environmental technology<\/b>, academic cooperation, and culture.<\/p>\n
He made special mention of cooperation to promote regional interconnectivity in the sectors of energy, infrastructure, ports, and transportation, emphasizing the strategic importance<\/b> of the Adriatic-Ionian Motorway – Ionian Motorway for boosting trade, tourism, and business partnerships.<\/p>\nExploring new investment opportunities <\/h3>\n
At the same time, he announced that an agreement had been reached to organize a business mission from Greece to Podgorica in the near future, with the aim of explore new investment<\/b> opportunities and partnerships between businesses in the two countries.<\/p>\n
Mr. Gerapetritis also highlighted the growing flow of visitors between Greece and Montenegro, noting that direct flights<\/b> play a decisive role in strengthening the ties between the two peoples and fostering mutual understanding.<\/p>\n
In closing, he thanked Mr. Ibraimovi\u0107 for his hospitality and constructive cooperation, assuring him that Greece would continue to stand by Montenegro both bilaterally and on its path to accession to the European Union, a development which, as he emphasized<\/b>, will strengthen both Montenegro itself and the European Union as a whole.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis reiterated Greece\u2019s steadfast support for Montenegro\u2019s path toward accession to the European Union…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}