Skopje, 1 June 2022 (MIA) – Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi met with Montenegro counterpart Danijela Djurovic at the sidelines of the plenary session of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Parliamentary Assembly in Athens on Wednesday. Speaker Xhaferi congratulated colleague Djurovic on her recent election to the post, hoping that the excellent cooperation between the two institutions would continue, the Parliament said in a press release. Xhaferi said Europe and the world are faced with exceptional geopolitical foreign policy and security challenges, with the simplest way for the European Union to demonstrate strategic leadership and save its credibility being through the start of the accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. He said the slowdown of the enlargement process with the Western Balkans weakens the region’s trust in the Union, leaving an open door to nationalistic and retrograde processes. The Speaker added that the Russian aggression in Ukraine has shown in the most tragic way the importance of EU enlargement for the security, peace, unity, democratic transformation and economic prosperity for the entire continent. “That is why the Western Balkans should become a part of the European Union,” said Xhaferi. Djurovic said the Montenegro parliament and the country have continually supported North Macedonia’s Euro-integration path. She said Montenegro’s accession negotiations have been long but the closure of the accession chapters depended on the country itself, since Podgorica has no open issues with other states. The Montenegro official said the Western Balkans’ EU integration would contribute to the stabilization of the area and Europe, whereas the NATO membership of Montenegro and North Macedonia is an additional benefit to their security and stability. Djurovic underlined that Montenegro is prepared to support North Macedonia in the Euro-integration process, expressing hope that North Macedonia would get a date for the start of the accession talks in June. Interlocutors agreed that both countries share excellent political, cultural and economic ties, whereas their NATO membership and common European future further strengthen bilateral relations and contribute to the enhancement of regional cooperation, especially in the field of economy, with enormous potential to boost trade exchange, reads the press release.