In an interview with Pobjeda, Maske said that, as far as she knows, all political parties that are members of the ruling coalition, as well as those represented in the Parliament, have declared themselves in favor of Montenegro's accession to the EU.
She said that they recently proved this again by adopting a resolution proposed by the Committee on European Affairs of the Parliament of Montenegro, which was unanimously adopted by the MPs present.
"The parliamentary majority is made up of different political currents, but isn't that the principle of representative democracy? Compromises are always possible when there is a clear common goal. Such is the case with the European integration process, aided by the support of the vast majority of the Montenegrin population," Maske pointed out.
According to her, completing accession negotiations as soon as possible requires the continuation of reforms without delay, as well as appointments that have broader political support.
"Encouraging passivity by speculating on the outcome of the next elections would be harmful to Montenegro and its citizens, who would not forgive their representatives for missing a historic opportunity due to political calculations," Maske believes.
She assessed that the high level of ambition that the Montenegrin authorities have set for themselves is completely understandable, bearing in mind that accession negotiations began almost 14 years ago and that there is a strong public expectation that this process will finally be brought to an end.
"Montenegro has made significant progress in the last two and a half years, adopting important reforms and achieving concrete progress, including in the area of the rule of law, which has enabled the continuation of the closing of negotiation chapters and confirmed its undisputed leadership among candidate countries," said Maske.
She added that there are still key stages ahead and that there is no more time to waste in order to overcome obstacles and complete accession negotiations.
"This is particularly true for rule of law reforms, specifically the need to achieve credible results in the fight against organized crime and corruption. It also applies to issues related to environmental protection," Maske said.
She emphasized that in this very demanding phase of negotiations, the mobilization of all political and institutional actors is necessary, with the support of the civil sector and citizens.
"I would like to emphasize again that Montenegro can count on the full support of France in further progressing through this demanding merit-based process," said Maske.
