madam president i agree with most of the speakers so far that montenegro has made considerable progress towards eu integration despite a poor starting position
in common with the other former yugoslav republics it has had to cope with the collapse of communism coming together with the collapse of the state the war that followed and then having to build a new system on the ruins of the old
this is no easy task and some of the negative features of the previous system have lived on in new guises
what is important however is the emergence of a younger élite that has committed itself to a european future in which it was certainly helped by the unsuccessful union with serbia
problems remain of course
we have heard about some of these the usual ones that former communist states have had to cope with corruption criminality abuses in the administration of justice a not particularly efficient public service and the like
the remedying of these and parallel flaws in the political economic legal and administrative systems will require a major effort on the part of the leadership and it should be prepared for both active and passive resistance from the beneficiaries of the existing system
every former communist country has had to face analogous difficulties
the determination of both élites and public opinion to offer a european future is probably the single most important factor ensuring montenegro's eventual accession to the eu
