Podgorica, (MINA) – The Western Balkans’ countries joining the EU will contribute to strengthening common security, and speeding up the negotiation process is a common interest of both the EU and candidate countries, as stated at the meeting of foreign ministers of the “Friends of the Western Balkans” group in Rome.

The meeting of the “Friends of the Western Balkans” group and the ministers of foreign affairs of the Western Balkans countries with the European Commission took place in Rome on Monday, while the meeting was hosted by Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs of Antonio Tajani.

According to the press release from the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs, the focus of the talks was on preserving common security, strengthening cooperation with the countries of the Western Balkans, speeding up the accession process, as well as common priorities for the further course of negotiations.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, Ervin Ibrahimovic, pointed out that it was very important that the Western Balkans remained high on the EU agenda.

“The world needs a strong EU today more than ever, and with the current positive momentum towards enlargement, we have no time to waste”, said Ibrahimovic.

According to him, any diversion of attention or missed opportunity that jeopardizes the process of European integration, benefits external factors. “Therefore, we have a shared responsibility to seize this opportunity. This is what the citizens of Montenegro expect from us, as well as our international partners and friends who stand by our side”, said Ibrahimovic.