Montenegro is at a point that could be defined as a kind of watershed when it comes to strategic partnerships that will determine the future development of the state and society. It is, to use a cinematic reference, the proverbial Mississippi River Crossing from the Hollywood film of the same name, where, if we are not wise, we can easily and easily sell our collective soul to the Devil.
We live in a time of significant geostrategic changes and an intense disintegration of the elements of international order and law, on which the world has functioned for the past seventy years or more. The international order created after the end of World War II no longer exists as a functional model. This is a consequence of the decision of the main creator of this model, the United States administration, to deconstruct the existing international order and the legal norms on which it was based. This development of events has forced smaller states to make a difficult decision and opt for the protective umbrella of one of the parties in the new Cold War.
I believe that, in the vortex of the contemporary confrontation between the authoritarian regime in power in the United States of America and the political structures leading a united Europe (the strength of that unity can and should be discussed), small states must turn to geographically closer integration structures with which they share fundamental civilizational values. What should not be done is to hide in a corner, close your eyes, and remain silent until the proverbial storm passes.
The military and financial strength of our former transatlantic partner should not be the primary or even the only criterion for Montenegro's foreign policy choices. The same applies to the hope for a partnership with Russia. We must not forget that fear of a powerful protector, and the servility that such fear inevitably produces, have never been, nor can they be, the foundation of progress. There are other names for this that I will not elaborate on here.
The choice of a strategic partner on the path of further development should be made on the basis of the aforementioned common civilizational values. This criterion clearly shows that only the European Union is the new and future "Montenegrin house", and that the previously valid platitude about "Euro-Atlantic integrations" is today dysfunctional and singular, that is, that only the "euro" part remains of it. However, no matter how vulnerable it is today, this "euro" framework is the only right location for a new "Montenegrin house".
It is extremely important for citizens that the ruling structures offer an answer to the contemporary political question (both foreign and domestic): what kind of Montenegro will cross the threshold of this new house?
The fact that they do not offer an answer to this question can be understood as a confirmation of their disregard for the public or as a sign of a fundamental lack of interest in the real reforming effects of EU integration. A more radical statement could interpret this lack of interest as an active obstruction of the EU integration process for the state of Montenegro. The current dynamics of adopting Euro-oriented legal solutions as an important condition for Montenegro's membership raises the suspicion that the aforementioned interpretations are not mutually exclusive.
There is no doubt that the administration in Brussels is offering Montenegro a unique opportunity to be the next member of the European Union. It is also clear, and somewhat worrying, that this is a unique opportunity for the EU itself to demonstrate and prove its own relevance, integrative capacity and desirability as a legal framework to which other states aspire.
That is why Montenegro is being asked to meet the "minimum" criteria for future membership. That is why chapters are being closed on which little, or almost nothing, has been done. That is why weeks of political burlesque in the Montenegrin parliament are being tolerated, whose members (with some exceptions) are chorally adopting one new European law every minute.
Of course, Montenegro should become the next member of the European Union. There is no dispute that this membership is a generational opportunity and a national priority.
What is worrying is the absolute focus of political actors on these two elements (generational chance and state priority) and their willingness to treat any critical review of the parliament's farcical legislative activity as an act of obstruction of Montenegro's EU integration, or even as an anti-state act.
Those who treat the criticism of the rapid adoption of laws that have not even been read, let alone their future effect understood, in this way fail to recognize that this is the point at which the essence of the European integration process in Montenegro (as a reform effort that will somewhat harmonize the hybrid regime of the proto-democratic type with the ordered system of Western liberal democracy) has been dissolved, and that absolute primacy has been given to empty form. The fact that the administration in Brussels is a willing and agile participant in this dissolution of its own essence should worry every Euro-enthusiast. I hope that the advocates of Montenegrin EU integration at all costs will not paint me with Eurosceptic tempers for the sake of this critical review.
Since we must not ignore the importance and validity of the saying about repetition as the mother of learning, I will say the following again: the belief that a broader integrative framework, such as the EU, will by itself magically solve our domestic dilemmas and compensate for significant shortcomings is, like beliefs in the Immaculate Conception, Baba Yaga, or in fairies and witches, completely unfounded and counterproductive.
If we do not pay attention to the essence of internal reforms as the backbone of our EU integration, Montenegro will become part of the European Union, without anything changing for the better in a country that boasts thousands of new European-oriented laws, because there are no functional tools for change.
I hope I am not alone (although that would not be news) in believing that in Montenegro one can walk and chew gum at the same time, that is, that a thorough familiarization with the new EU-oriented legal regulations can be completed within a reasonable time frame that would not put Montenegrin membership in the EU in question. Otherwise, the price of the victory of EU form over EU substance will be paid by generations of Montenegrin citizens.
Bonus video:
