Podgorica, (MINA) - Montenegro faces numerous challenges that require broad political consensus, including judicial appointments and constitutional amendments, said Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorcevic, adding that she expects all political actors to show maturity and separate the European agenda from day-to-day political differences.

Speaking in the Parliament on Wednesday, Gorcevic responded to MPs’ questions, including those of Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) MPs Ivan Vukovic and Aleksandra Vukovic Kuc, who asked how she reconciles her position that DPS’s withdrawal from parliamentary committees will not significantly affect the EU integration process with the message from Commissioner Marta Kos that there can be no successful progress without cooperation between the government and the opposition.

Gorcevic emphasized that the integration process requires broad social consensus and joint efforts, noting that the participation of all actors is “important and desirable”.

As she added, European integration is not a matter of daily politics, but a shared national interest that requires responsibility and cooperation.

“Any different approach, which implies slowing down or making the process more difficult, does not contribute to achieving the European goal. If someone believes that the national interest is protected with such an approach, I want to state clearly that I cannot support such a policy”, Gorcevic said.

She also expressed belief that all political actors, as in previous important moments before, will show the necessary maturity and separate the European agenda from day-to-day political differences.

Gorcevic also said that Commissioner Kos’s messages should be understood as a call for joint action.

“It is an invitation to all political and social actors to get constructively involved in the EU integration process. If someone does not want to accept such an invitation from the Government, I believe that they will at least appreciate the messages coming from Brussels, because they clearly indicate the direction in which Montenegro should go”, said Gorcevic.

She emphasized that the European path should not be seen as a dividing line between the government and the opposition, but as a shared goal and responsibility.

Vukovic said that he did not receive a concrete answer, but a “political pamphlet”, stating that Gorcevic had never said anything about, what he described as problematic decisions by the ruling majority, which, he claims, caused serious damage to the European integration process.

Vukovic Kuc said that Montenegro’s European path cannot be reduced only to a technical issue, and that by declaring that the opposition’s withdrawal from working bodies “will not help, nor discourage” her, Gorcevic sent a message that she does not fundamentally understand the work she is doing.

Gorcevic replied that the Government has clear communication with the European Commission and that all disputed elements of the law are being further harmonized, and that she only heard from Vukovic that the goal of closing chapters will not be achieved.