A director in the European Commission's General Administration for Enlargement, Reinhard Priebe, said that by the end of the year, after official and technical rounds of the negotiation were completed, Montenegro's progress in negotiations and reforms would be visible. He, however, did not say when the negotiations could be completed.
He also declined to speculate whether Montenegro could join the EU in 2012, together with Croatia.
Montenegrin Minister for Economic Relations with Abroad and European Integration Processes Gordana Djurovic said this was the first official round of negotiations in independent Montenegro, adding that this was the reason why the talks were focused on changes.
Djurovic is confident that negotiations could be completed by the year's end, adding this would be great progress for Montenegro, considering the country's size.