NATO Secretary-General says Montenegro needs to focus on reforms

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it is too early to talk about a possible date for Montenegro’s accession to NATO. In an interview with the daily Pobjeda on Saturday (December 11th), he urged authorities to focus on reforms. Montenegro was invited to join NATO’s membership action plan (MAP) in December 2009, and Podgorica submitted its first national programme under MAP in October. Rasmussen said that progress in the fight against corruption and organised crime is essential both for membership in NATO and the EU.