The President of the Veneto Regional Council and co-chair of the CoR's Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) with Montenegro, Roberto Ciambetti, reiterated the support for Montenegro's integration into the EU in a meeting held in a coastal town of Ulcinj. "I am here to reaffirm that EU's local & regional authorities' commitment to Montenegro’s strategic goal of EU membership is unwavering" stated Mr Ciambetti. 

The discussion held between the CoR delegation and Montenegrin mayors and councillors focused on the ways to most effectively support Montenegro's European integration on the ground.

The EU-Montenegro intergovernmental conference held in late June resulted in an announcement confirming that the country has met the interim benchmarks in the area of the rule of law. Based on the current enlargement methodology, this step also means that Montenegro can now start closing other negotiating chapters.

"I am pleased that while this important work has been carried out between the Montenegrin government and relevant EU services, including the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, we were able to strengthen the ties with Montenegro at the local level, bringing the country much closer to the awaited EU membership" – highlighted Mr Ciambetti.

The meeting that was co-chaired by Dušan Raičević, mayor of Bar, was the last meeting of the five years co-presidency between Ciambetti and Raičević.