Montenegro has made the most progress in its negotiations with the European Union to become a member state, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th September, 2021) Montenegro has made the most progress in its negotiations with the European Union to become a member state, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
The EU official is visiting Montenegro ahead of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Slovenia next week.
"Montenegro is the most advanced country in the accession negotiations and we want that to continue," von der Leyen said at a joint press conference with Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic.
Montenegro was granted a candidate country status by the EU in 2010, and accession negotiations officially started two years later. In the past ten years the country has received more than 507 million Euros ($588 million) in development aid from the bloc's funding mechanism for candidate states.
In addition to Montenegro, the other aspiring member countries in the Western Balkans include Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, with the latter two holding the "potential candidate country" status.
