President of the Republic Ilir Meta said in a statement to the media that the reason he left the Socialist Party in 2004 was precisely the fact that, according to him, the government blocked European integration. As for the issue of the new president, he said the majority has the votes to elect a president of its own.

"As for my previous political engagement, I split from the SP in 2004 because it had become an obstacle to EU integration. This was the reason why I founded a new political force, like the SMI (Socialist Movement for Integration), precisely to unlock this process and I realized this after, in 2005 the SMI played a decisive role towards a government that had hindered integration. I mean at that time, Serbia, Montenegro did not exist in this process. Where are we today? You know very well that they have opened negotiations that we have not yet opened. I very much hope that we will have a better approach from the EU", said Meta. 

Meta said that on July 25 he will launch the new engagement. "Regarding the issue of electing a new president, this is of no interest, because it is clear. They have enough votes to elect the president. My term is until July 24th. On July 25, a new commitment and new responsibility begins," the president affirmed.