CONVINCED that the Stabilisation and Association Agreement hereinafter referred as "this Agreement" will create a new climate for economic relations between them and, above all, for the development of trade and investment, factors crucial to economic restructuring and modernisation;. BEARING in mind the commitment by Montenegro to approximate its legislation in the relevant sectors to that of the Community, and to effectively implement it;.
TAKING ACCOUNT of the Community's willingness to provide decisive support for the implementation of reform and to use all available instruments of cooperation and technical, financial and economic assistance on a comprehensive indicative multiannual basis to this endeavour;. The same applies to Denmark, in accordance with the Protocol annexed to those Treaties on the position of Denmark;.
RECALLING that the Thessaloniki Summit reinforced the Stabilisation and Association process as the policy framework for the European Union's relations with the Western Balkan countries and underlined the prospect of their integration with the European Union on the basis of their individual reform progress and merit;. An Association is hereby established between the Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Montenegro, of the other part.
Respect for the democratic principles and human rights as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and as defined in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, in the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, respect for international law principles, including full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ICTY , and the rule of law as well as the principles of market economy as reflected in the Document of the CSCE Bonn Conference on Economic Cooperation, shall form the basis of the domestic and external policies of the Parties and constitute essential elements of this Agreement.
The fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery constitutes an essential element of this Agreement. The contracting parties reaffirm the importance they attach to the implementation of international obligations, notably the full cooperation with ICTY. International and regional peace and stability, the development of good neighbourly relations, human rights and the respect and protection of minorities are central to the Stabilisation and Association process referred to in the conclusions of the Council of the European Union on 21 June The conclusion and the implementation of this Agreement come within the framework of the conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 29 April and are based on the individual merits of Montenegro.
