Montenegro needs a strong political will to effectively solve corruption issues, as well as a strong judicial response to high-level corruption - it is stated in the draft of the main conclusions of the European Commission's Progress Report, which "Vijesti" had access to.
In a document that the European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Oliver Varhelji to present today to the members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament (AFET), it says that Montenegro must solve systemic deficiencies in the judicial system, including the way in which cases of organized crime are resolved before the courts.
In the conclusions, among other things, it is written that Montenegro has achieved a certain level of preparedness in the fight against corruption.
As stated, limited progress has been achieved, with last year's recommendations partially fulfilled in terms of further results in the prevention of corruption, as well as the efforts of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) in solving its challenges.
"The results on confiscation of property need to be further improved. Under the new leadership, KAS showed a more proactive approach, especially in strengthening communication and field activities towards the public, media and civil society, and in resolving cases from previous years. Despite the positive trend, challenges related to the independence of KAS, setting priorities, selective approach and the quality of its decisions remain and require constant efforts," the document reads.
The EC notes that corruption is still present in many areas, and that a strong political will is needed to effectively solve this issue, as well as a strong judicial response to high-level corruption.
Montenegro, as stated in the document, has a certain level of preparedness, that is, it is moderately prepared for the fight against organized crime.
"Some progress has been made in fulfilling last year's recommendations, especially in improving police access to key databases and increasing the number of investigators and experts in key areas. The number of investigated and prosecuted cases of organized crime continued to grow, and the number of cases in which verdicts were given almost tripled," it says in the conclusions that "Vijesti" had access to.
The EC stated that international police cooperation is well established and that it continues to produce results with, as they said, "unrecorded drug seizures abroad".
However, the EC adds, the capacity to deal with cigarette smuggling and money laundering is not yet at the expected level.
When it comes to basic human rights, the EC believes that Montenegro has a largely established legislative and institutional framework and that it has achieved some progress in fulfilling the obligations established by international instruments and laws on human rights.
"However, effective implementation remains a challenge. The effectiveness of investigations into excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies and hate crimes must be further improved. Vulnerable groups - including Roma and Egyptians, and people with disabilities - continue to face multiple forms of discrimination and difficulties in exercising their rights in administrative and judicial proceedings. Women continue to experience inequality in their participation in political and public life, and their access to employment and economic opportunities".
When it comes to economic criteria, it is stated that Montenegro has made some progress and is moderately ready to develop a functional market economy. It is noted that due to covid-19, a strong recession occurred in 2020 due to the effects on tourism, on which the economy depends, and that this negatively spilled over into private consumption, investments, employment, trade and public finances.
The economic support measures, which are said to be largely well-targeted, transparent and temporary, were praised.
It is emphasized that the orderly transition of power contributed to effective policies in response to the situation with covid and that the new government mitigated fiscal risks. It is concluded that the financial sector was stable during the crisis and that this is the result of a strong position in the pre-crisis period and the support measures of the authorities, but that the delayed impact of the crisis on bank balances means that monitoring of financial institutions is needed.
The quality of the education system is not at the level required to raise "human capital", and it is also pointed out that in addition to modern telecommunications and energy infrastructure, there is a significant deficit in transport infrastructure, which disrupts integration with the regional and EU markets. The low level of sophistication of domestic products, the small size of local companies are cited as significant obstacles...
When it comes to relations with neighbors and regional cooperation, the draft states that Montenegro remained constructively committed to bilateral relations with neighboring countries, despite tensions and the growth of nationalist rhetoric in bilateral relations with Serbia.
Montenegro became a candidate country for EU membership in December 2010, and membership negotiations officially began on June 29, 2012. The country opened all 35 negotiation chapters, of which only three were temporarily closed.
Today, Varhelji will present the Enlargement Package for 2021, which the EC adopts every year, and which includes an assessment of the state of the accession process and the implementation of reforms in the candidate countries.
After the EC assessment of the reforms in each country participating in the integration process, the AFET rapporteurs will draft resolutions for the countries with the conclusions and recommendations of the European Parliament.
Law on freedom of religion amended after limited consultation
The draft also states that gender-based violence and violence against children are still issues of serious concern.
"Ethnically and religiously motivated attacks, hate crimes and hate speech continue to increase. Montenegro only partially fulfilled last year's recommendations. Access to justice, especially for vulnerable groups, needs to be improved. The amendments to the Law on Freedom of Religion were adopted after limited and not fully inclusive consultations with religious communities," the document reads.
The RTCG council was elected without broad support among the parties
The draft states that Montenegro has achieved a certain level of preparedness in the area of freedom of expression. According to the EC, limited progress was made during the reporting period and last year's recommendations were only partially addressed.
"There were some new developments in the investigation into the wounding of the investigative journalist (Olivera Lakić) in 2018, but it remains to ensure full and effective judicial monitoring of this case and other important cases. In April 2021, the government established a new ad hoc commission to monitor violence against the media, but it has not yet fully or effectively addressed the significant recommendations of the previous commission," the document reads.
The EC points out that the revision of the legal framework is underway in order to resolve additional issues determined by the Law on the Media and the Law on the National Public Broadcaster RTCG, in order to complement the new law on audio-visual media and to ensure their full alignment with the legal acquis EU and European standards.
"Additional efforts are needed to limit the effects of misinformation, online harassment and hate speech, while ensuring that such measures do not limit freedom of expression," notes the EC.
According to them, the Parliament of Montenegro elected a new RTCG Council in June 2021 without broad support among the parties.
"After this change and subsequent changes in the management of RTCG, the Public Service began to show more politically diverse content. The media scene is still highly polarized, often characterized by politically biased and unbalanced reporting, including a large participation of foreign media from the region, which was especially noticeable during the elections. The mechanisms of media self-regulation are still weak," the draft reads.
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