WELCOME BY MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU, PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY, TO Mr MILO ĐUKANOVIĆ, PRIME MINISTER OF MONTENEGRO

(Strasbourg, Tuesday 22 June 2010, 12 noon, Hemicycle)

Dear Prime Minister,

It is a pleasure and an honour to welcome you to our Chamber, one month after our meeting in Podgorica, in the course of my official visit.

Mr Đukanović, you have had an impressively long and prestigious political career. Few leaders of your generation can count on a similar wealth of experience: you were Head of the Government at the age of 29!

You led your country to its new position in the international community and, three years ago, to accession to the Council of Europe as an independent state. When negotiations for accession to the European Union start, next year, you will continue to accompany Montenegro on its European path.

When we met, you reaffirmed your commitment to the values and principles of the Council of Europe. I was pleased to see that your words were followed by deeds: in this short while, Montenegro has ratified numerous Council of Europe conventions. The new law on the Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament of Montenegro was also good example of cooperation with the Council of Europe, in particular with the Venice Commission.

However, as you know, work is not over, and the difficult part might yet be to come: once ratified, conventions need to be enforced consistently.

Mr Đukanović, your presence here shows again your involvement, giving me at the same time the opportunity to confirm once more that, whenever needed, your country has the full support of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Europe as a whole.

Prime Minister, you have the floor.