Malta pledges to support Montenegro’s EU bid

President George Abela yesterday assured Montenegro of Malta’s full support in its application to join the European Union.

Speaking during a state visit to the western Balkan country, Dr Abela said Malta would support the country during the accession negotiations with the EU, possibly later on in the year. He said the coming into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU was “a strategic step forward in the right direction”.

Dr Abela is accompanied by the Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg and a high level business delegation.

“Malta views favourably Montenegro’s potential as a future EU member state. Malta also believes that it is in the interest of the Union as much as it is in the interest of the western Balkan region to speed up the integration of this region into a dynamic union which would help immensely to consolidate the security and stability of the region,” he said in an address to the first Malta/Montenegro business forum.

Dr Abela said his visit, the first by a Maltese President to Montenegro, was a clear sign of improving diplomatic relations established in July 2006 and which intensified further with the appointment of Malta’s non-resident Ambassador to Montenegro, Joseph Psaila Savona, just two months ago.

President Abela had talks with his counterpart, President Filip Vujanovic, at the Presidential Palace in Cetinje. He also attended a state dinner hosted by President Vujanovic at the Government House Building.