He points out that Montenegro will be present at ministerial meetings as an observer until it becomes a member state. After joining the Alliance, it will be equal with other member states when it comes to decision making.
“Montenegro is not a formal member of the Alliance yet and we are still in the technical part of Montenegro’s admission. As for meetings of defence and foreign affairs ministers, Montenegro may attend these meetings as an observer, but it will not be able to vote or block any decisions there. It will be entitled to do that after it becomes a full member, i.e. when all 28 member states ratify the protocol on the accession of Montenegro into NATO. Then the Montenegro’s observer status will be finished and as a member state, it will be granted the same rights and obligations as other member states,” Valásek said.
He added that the negotiation process was a technical one.
“It is not an easy task to predict it, because it depends on bureaucracy a lot. In any case, the ratification process takes longer because it requires all 28 national parliaments to ratify the decision on Montenegro admission to the Alliance. Past experience shows us that this period lasts from one to two years. The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland received NATO invitation in 1997 and they became full members two years later, in 1999. Also, the Alliance sent the invitation to Baltic countries, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia in 2002 and the admission process lasted until 2004. I think the situation will be different for Montenegro, as there is just one country to join NATO and parliaments of the member states can ratify it faster. It is very difficult to predict it because of the national agendas, whether there are elections or certain events which may postpone this decision. So I think that the ratification process can take up to a year,” Valásek said.
He argues that Alliance members trust believe Montenegro. As he said, if there was no trust, they would not adopt that decision in December.
“All member states believe that Montenegro is on the right track. Montenegro has deserved the invitation and you should just continue with reforms. You do not have open issues with your neighbours and you are developing regional cooperation,” he said.
