Podgorica, (MINA) – Montenegro will not be able to close Chapter 24 – Justice, freedom and security within the set timeframe, if the Law on Internal Affairs is not adopted, said Minister of Internal Affairs Danilo Saranovic.

Speaking during the session of the Parliament on Friday, he said that the draft law that has been available for review for almost a year.

“The law has been withdrawn several times, because we acted responsibly towards the parliament, and we also wanted to conduct an additional round of consultations with the European Commission (EC), so that no one could claim it was a unilateral move by any institution”, said Saranovic.

He added that the draft law has been on the parliamentary agenda for 25 days, and therefore “it cannot be said that anyone did not have time to familiarize themselves” with the proposed legal solution.

According to Saranovic, the draft amendments are the result of several months of discussions with the competent EC directorates.

He said that, if that law is not adopted, Montenegro will not be able to protect its borders with the available personnel capacities.

“If someone does not vote for this law, I want to make it clear that they are assuming responsibility for what is certain – that Montenegro will not be able to close Chapter 24”, Saranovic said.