Written question asked by Chris Evans (Labour) on Monday, 11 June 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 13 June 2012. It was answered by David Lidington (Conservative) on Tuesday, 19 June 2012 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Montenegro

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent assessment is of Montenegro's readiness to join the EU.

[111550]

Answer: The UK supports eventual EU membership for Montenegro, as for all countries of the Western Balkans. We look forward to the upcoming decision on whether to open EU accession negotiations with Montenegro this year based on the European Commission's recommendation that Montenegro has made good progress across the range of pre-accession criteria. However, the opening of accession negotiations is only the beginning. There is still much progress needed to bring Montenegro in line with the EU standards required for membership, and the UK remains clear that Montenegro will need to meet the required conditionality before being accepted into the EU. The EU accession process is a rigorous conditions-based process that is designed to ensure this. Particular areas of concern regarding rule of law and organised crime and corruption will be addressed early under the new approach of opening negotiation on Chapters 23 (Judiciary and fundamental rights) and 24 (Justice, freedom and security) as early as possible in the process; which we fully support.

Secondary information