Montenegro receives EU road map for visa-free travel

30/05/2008

Montenegro received the list of requirements it must fulfil in order to dissolve the visa regime with the EU. The country hopes to be visa-free by next year.

By Nedjeljko Rudovic for Southeast European Times in Podgorica - 30/05/08

"We will approach the tasks very responsibly. Not because of the EU monitoring but because of us," Montenegrin Foreign Minister Milan Rocen said. [Getty Images]

European Commission (EC) Director for the Western Balkans Pierre Mirel was in Montenegro on Wednesday (May 28th), where he presented the road map for ending the country's visa regime with the EU to Foreign Minister Milan Roćen. Mirel said he hopes the country takes a speedy course to abolishing visa requirements with the Union.

"The progress of Montenegro will depend ... on how fast the government fulfils the requirements. We think they are realistic and can be reached in a realistic timetable," the EC official said.

The road map outlines the requirements Montenegro must meet to allow its citizens to travel without visas in the Schengen area countries -- 22 EU-member countries, plus Norway and Iceland. Montenegrin officials say they expect to be included in the Schengen zone in 2009.

The main requirements are to improve the safety of passports and other identification documents, strengthen co-operation with neighbours in security and judicial affairs, increase security at border points and intensify the fight against corruption, organised crime and illegal migration.

Montenegro began issuing biometric passports earlier this month and is implementing a border control system with the help of the US government.

The main challenge facing the country is combating corruption and organised crime. All the EC progress reports cite that as a weakness. Montenegro, which has a reputation for rarely punishing those charged with corruption, is under pressure to move beyond rhetoric and achieve its goals.

"How fast we will go forward will depend on ourselves. All agencies will need to work very hard," Rocen said after receiving the road map. He said the government is now under the scrutiny of the EC and the Montenegrin public. "We will approach the tasks very responsibly. Not because of the EU monitoring but because of us."

According to the minister, fulfilling the road map requirements will improve the country's relations with its neighbours, which in turn will strengthen regional co-operation.

Representatives of the small Mediterranean country also hope to become a candidate for EU membership next year. Montenegro signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU in October 2007, and the government announced during Mirel's visit that it will submit its membership application this fall.