Spajić: Montenegro Is Determined to Turn Its Own Progress into an Opportunity for the Entire Region

Welcoming the Summit participants, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Prime Minister Spajić thanked Germany for its continued support for the region’s European perspective. He noted that, twelve years after its launch, the Berlin Process confirms the fundamental idea of European integration: lasting peace is built through shared achievements, cooperation, and solidarity. Reflecting on Montenegro’s chairmanship of the Berlin Process, the Prime Minister said that 25 events had been organized during the year, 12 of them at ministerial level, with the aim of strengthening regional cooperation, mutual trust, and the promotion of European values. Speaking about the concrete benefits of regional connectivity, he highlighted the importance of the Common Regional Market and gradual alignment with the European Union’s single market, which should enable faster movement of goods, recognition of qualifications, easier business operations, and access to new markets. The Prime Minister said that Europe must demonstrate determination in its enlargement policy, just as it does in defending its fundamental values, stressing that a credible accession process based on merit and achieved results confirms the European Union’s ability to shape its own future. Addressing European security, the Prime Minister reiterated Montenegro’s firm support for Ukraine, its sovereignty, and territorial integrity, emphasizing that a just and lasting peace must be based on respect for international law and the principle that borders cannot be changed by force. At the end of his opening address, he stressed that Montenegro’s commitment to the Berlin Process would not end with its chairmanship, but that the country would continue contributing to the continuity and strengthening of the initiative, with the ambition of soon doing so as a full member of the European Union.