NATO membership is a recommendation for Montenegro’s accession to the EU

By joining NATO, Montenegro has reached the standards that will be an incentive for European integration, and it has added its resources to the international system and thus has the same voice as other members.

The British ambassador to Montenegro, Alison Kemp, admired the young people and said that by joining NATO, Montenegro had started reforms that, in her opinion, would bring it closer to the European Union (EU).

“Montenegro has undergone reforms of the secret service, the defense budget has become public, and the professionalization of staff in the Ministry of Defense, as well as in the military forces, has also been carried out. “By joining NATO, Montenegro has added its voice and resources to the international system and thus has the same voice as other members,” Kemp said.

According to MONSTAT data, as she said, the United Kingdom ranks among the ten largest foreign investors in Montenegro.

“It is estimated that, since Montenegro’s membership in NATO, the number of investments from NATO countries has increased by 66 percent. “This is not only in correlation with the NATO alliance, but many British investors say that by joining, they feel more secure when investing in Montenegro, which also brings a larger number of British tourists,” said Kemp.

With the membership of Montenegro, in his opinion, the alliance has shown that it does not want a closed circle and that it wants to expand.

“Also, Montenegro has contributed by helping the countries of the region, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, to prepare for their membership,” Kemp said.

Speaking about the current agenda in the EU and the formation of the army within that Union, she said that the position was clear.

“NATO is the most successful alliance in history, because in its 70 years of existence, it has managed to defend and protect the freedoms and way of life we ​​live. NATO has given Europe a period of peace that no other alliance has succeeded in doing. “The position of the United Kingdom is very clear, that the EU does not need a separate army, which would function in parallel, because that is exactly why we have NATO,” Kemp stated.

The head of the NATO Department in the Ministry of Defense of Montenegro, Radmila Perović, pointed out that Montenegro’s membership in the NATO alliance is a privilege for Montenegro, which, as she stated, brings numerous benefits to the state.

“The first benefit is certainly a political benefit, because Montenegro, as a small country with less than a million inhabitants, has the same right to vote, ie the same importance as much larger countries.” We make decisions on an equal footing with other members, “said Perović.

Speaking about the economic benefits of Montenegro’s membership in NATO, Perovic said that Montenegro is a safe investment destination, which, as she said, directly affected the increase in foreign investment.

“The most significant benefit is that by joining NATO, we guarantee long-term security on our territory and security to our citizens, which is a precondition for every other progress,” Perovic pointed out.

“What we have achieved in terms of joining NATO will benefit us in terms of EU integration.” “NATO membership is not a precondition for EU membership, but it is a great recommendation because we have met certain standards and criteria for joining NATO, which will be evaluated on the way to the EU, because the two processes are complementary,” said Perovic.

She said that education and timely information are the best means in the fight against the disinformation campaign.

“The information we see in the media is not necessarily intended for information and is not necessarily accurate. Some publications are intended for disinformation campaigns and that is why the education of high school students, as well as timely and accurate information is very important. “Such projects, such as the one implemented by CEDEM, enable people to hear accurate information from official representatives in direct communication, which is one of the ways to fight against disinformation campaigns,” said Perović.

CEDEM Program Manager, Ognjen Markovic, stated that more than 120 high school students talked with the ambassadors of NATO member states about the perspective that membership gives them during the four marches, organized within the project “Let’s take a stand for future perspectives: Alliance of Youth and NATO “, which is funded by the Department of Public Diplomacy of NATO.

“These events were attended by more than 120 high school students who presented themselves as active members of Montenegrin society who are thinking about important social topics like this one. With their questions and comments, the young people proved that they represent not only the present, but also the future of this country, “Markovic pointed out.

“We tried to make the places of admiration locations that are close to young people or locations that have great cultural and artistic significance for the local community, in order to revive them,” Markovic explained.

He said that admiring is a traditional custom and that efforts were made to adapt the conversation on NATO-related topics to young people, through communication that is open and turned in two directions.

The admiration was realized within the project “Let’s take a stand for future perspectives: the Alliance of Youth and NATO”, funded by the Department of Public Diplomacy of NATO, and implemented by the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM), in cooperation with the PR Center and NGOs Attack.