Foreign Affairs Minister Blanar Meets His Montenegrin Counterpart Ibrahimovic

Bratislava, 17 September (TASR) - The Slovak Republic rejects any double standards in the EU's approach towards candidate countries seeking membership, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar said when meeting with Montenegro’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Ervin Ibrahimovic on Wednesday in Bratislava. Blanar noted that Slovakia supports the integration of countries such as Ukraine. In his view, however, Ukraine is far less prepared than the Western Balkan countries, which should have become EU members long ago. "We firmly reject different treatment between the Eastern Partnership countries, such as Ukraine, Moldova and possibly Georgia, and the Western Balkan countries. We support Ukraine's entry into the EU, but we must openly say that its preparedness is still far behind that of the Western Balkans," said Blanar. He described the European integration of the Western Balkan countries as a very important foreign policy issue for Slovakia. Montenegro officially applied for EU membership in 2008, two years after declaring independence from Serbia. It has so far closed seven out of a total of 33 chapters during accession negotiations and is currently the closest to joining the EU among all the candidate countries, aiming to achieve this goal by 2028. Ibrahimovic admitted that his country still faces challenges in reaching this goal. He said Slovakia and Montenegro should develop cooperation in the fields of economy, investment and tourism. "You are friends of Montenegro, and both our nations are friends. Slovaks are welcome in Montenegro," he said and thanked Slovakia for its support to Montenegro's independence and EU accession efforts. With regard to reinforcing economic cooperation between both countries, Blanar said that two sessions of the intergovernmental economic committee have been held to date, and he proposed that Slovakia could host the third session next year. He also suggested that regular flights between Bratislava and Podgorica could resume in 2026. On Wednesday, Ibrahimovic also met with House Speaker Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) and House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Marian Kery (Smer-SD). jrg