Dragutin Mate, Slovenian Minister of the Interior and President of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, met with Jusuf Kalamperovi, Montenegrin Minister of Interior Affairs and Public Administration, in Podgorica today. They signed the Protocol between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of Montenegro implementing the Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Montenegro on the Readmission of Persons Residing without Authorisation. According to Minister Mate, "Montenegro is on the right path towards the EU. Today it signed its first protocol with an EU Member State on the basis of the readmission agreement with the EU. Bilateral cooperation has already been stepped up and talks on visa liberation are continuing. Slovenia will assist Montenegro in meeting the requirements."
The Agreement between Montenegro and the European Community, which entered into force this year, provides for individual Member States of the European Union to sign protocols with Montenegro defining the implementation of the Agreement in more detail. Procedures for returning individuals who reside in Slovenia without authorisation to Montenegro will thus be considerably shortened.
The topics of today's and tomorrow's talks will also include cooperation between Slovenia and Montenegro during the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council and progress made in cooperation between the interior ministries and police forces of the two countries. Slovenia contributed considerably to the development of mutual trust between the EU and Montenegro in the area of visa liberalisation, where the dialogue started in February of this year. An important area is also police cooperation, especially as regards training and exchange of experience in different fields of police work.
