Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Tuesday received the chairman and members of the Montenegrin Assembly's International Relations and European Integration Commission, who informed him about excellent parliamentary cooperation between the two countries, the President's Office said in a statement.
"The two countries have excellent parliamentary cooperation, which can serve as a model in the region and beyond," Montenegrin delegates were quoted as saying. President Mesic said that Croatia would offer concrete assistance to Montenegro on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration, including the Croatian translation of European Union legislation.
The Montenegrin delegation also met with Semso Tankovic, who represents the Albanian, Bosniak, Macedonian, Montenegrin and Slovenian minorities in the Croatian Parliament. They discussed parliamentary representation of ethnic minorities and provisions of electoral legislation concerning the election of minority MPs.
Tankovic said he was not satisfied with the participation of ethnic minorities in institutions at local level, but noted that the situation was constantly improving in that regard. The number of ethnic Montenegrins living in Croatia is about 5,000.