In an interview for Pobjeda daily, Michael Haltzel, a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University SAIS, said he advises Montenegro to proceed with its NATO commitment and if necessary to double its efforts for acceding the European Union (EU).
“You must be very careful,” said Haltzel, reflecting on the recent Athens-Skopje agreement for resolving the name dispute, which is in his opinion, the biggest progress in the region.
It would be great if only the President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, could meet his American counterpart, Donald Trump, and explain him in person the progress of Montenegro and its strategic significance for the U.S.
“The fact is that the bilateral meeting depends on the White House agenda,” emphasized Haltzel.
As for the EU accession, it represents a complex and comprehensive process, including 30 chapters, each one with demanding requirements, according to Haltzel.
“Years will be needed in order to meet all the requirements. You certainly do not want to join the EU without meeting such a high standards. As for Turkey, Russia and China, they won’t even think about meddling into the Balkans’ affairs in order to oppose the EU. That would only deteriorate their relations with the EU and some of its member states,” estimated Haltzel, adding that Russia obviously wasn’t satisfied with the NATO membership of Montenegro.
