"I've received assurances, we will not be in the package (with Serbia)"

"I've received assurances, we will not be in the package (with Serbia)"

Zdravko Krivokapic said that he had received clear assurances from all participants in yesterday's Intergovernmental Conference that they would support Montenegro so that it could meet the provisional criteria for Chapters 23 and 24 and become the first member of the European family to cherish true values of justice, stability, peace and democracy, Podgorica media report.

"We must not betray the citizens because of political and personal interests, we must serve the citizens and our right path and track is to become the next member of the EU," Krivokapic said.

Asked how much internal political problems affect EU integration, he said the government has shown absolute commitment to the process.

"The only problem is that we thought that the objectivity of reporting was the basic characteristic of the media and that we did not place it to the public in the right way," Krivokapic said, adding that the government does not have any media under its control because it is committed to media freedom.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi said Montenegro's priority in continuing the enlargement process must be to meet the provisional criteria in key chapters relating to the rule of law. He said at a press conference after the Intergovernmental Conference of Montenegro and the European Union that the new methodology will improve the enlargement process.

Várhelyi said that key issues had been discussed - the judiciary, the Public Service, the fight against corruption and organized crime, and stressed that it was clear what Montenegro needed to do - meet the provisional criteria for Chapters 23 and 24, because without that no chapter could be opened.

It should be reminded that meetings of EU leaders and countries that started accession negotiations with the Union were held in Luxembourg on Tuesday. Serbian delegation was led by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.