European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule told Montenegrin leaders in Podgorica on Thursday the country was facing a more demanding integration phase full of challenges, saying concrete results were necessary in the struggle against corruption and organised crime.

Representatives of the government and the opposition called on Brussels to grant Montenegro EU membership candidate status and launch accession negotiations as soon as possible, Hina reported. Fule said the pace of Montenegro's accession to the EU was in the hands of Podgorica and not Brussels.

Reforms are the key to European integration and they depend on Montenegro, but it is not enough just to adopt reform laws, they must be enforced, he said after talks with Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic.

Speaking to reporters, Fule said he told Montenegrin officials that the job was more demanding and full of challenges, and that as Montenegro progressed towards EU accession, its reform efforts must be more comprehensive.

Montenegro applied for EU membership candidate status in December 2008 and the European Commission was asked for an opinion on the application in April 2009. In July, the EC gave the Montenegrin authorities a questionnaire to prepare an assessment of the country's readiness to meet the commitments stemming from EU membership. Montenegro r