Ivan Vilibor Sinčić for "Vijesti": When the government is not at the will of Brussels, everything is black in that country.

In the European Parliament, there were no formal discussions about suspending negotiations with Montenegro, and the denial of financial aid through pre-accession programs and investments is an unlikely scenario, the European MP said. Ivan Vilibor Sincic.

The president of the Croatian party Živi zid, a member of the Croatian Parliament and a candidate in the 2014 presidential elections, told "Vijesti" that the entry of any country into the European Union is a political decision of Brussels and has little to do with development, the degree of development of democracy and the seriousness of the fight against corruption in that country.

"The EU is ready to turn a blind eye when it comes to corruption, poverty, the judiciary... We see from the example of Croatia that all problems can be covered up and only formally fulfilled, and the state of the country remains as it was. It is even worse in Bulgaria. Considering the war in Ukraine, but also after the end of the war, if it is in the interest of the EU that Montenegro joins the EU, it will happen very quickly. And if the EU wants to get some more concessions, they will blackmail and procrastinate," said Sinčić, answering the question whether, like his colleagues from the European Parliament, Tonino Picula i Vladimir Bilchik believes that Montenegro has slowed down dramatically on its way to the EU.

Picula and Bilčik repeatedly called for a political agreement, primarily when it comes to the unblocking of the Constitutional Court, that is, the selection of judges of that court. They also pointed out that the development of the political situation in Montenegro in recent months has called into question the country's position as a leader in the EU accession process. In mid-December last year, Bilčik canceled the meeting of the EU-Montenegro Parliamentary Committee for Stabilization and Association (POSP) due to the adoption of amendments to the Law on the President, which the current majority adopted in order to make the mandate Miodrag Lekić could form a new government, after not receiving a mandate from the president of the state Milo Đukanović...

In recent months, there have been warnings about the blocking of negotiations with the EU, if Montenegro does not build functional institutions and emerge from the crisis related to the Constitutional Court. The warning was conveyed by the ministers of foreign affairs of Slovenia and Austria, Tanja Fajon i Alexander Schalenberg, during a visit to Podgorica last December...

Sinčić says that almost all decisions are proposed and made by the representatives of the five strongest countries.

"If you believe that the foreign ministers of Slovenia and Austria are shaping the policy of the European Union, then I agree that the warning should be taken seriously. In any case, there were no formal discussions within the European Parliament about suspending negotiations with Montenegro. Everything that comes from the West comes with political concessions. "Slovenia and Austria probably have something they want to get from Montenegro, so they are using their position in this way," said Sinčić.

Last month in Brussels, Fajon said that Montenegro went from being a leader in European integration to a cancer...

When asked if he thinks that statement was too harsh, Sinčić replies that the current political situation in Montenegro does not correspond to the European plans for EU expansion and therefore it is necessary to exert certain pressure.

"Brussels has a problem with the Montenegrin government. They don't like that he is their favorite Dritan Abazovic in the current position", says Sinčić.

Abazović's Government is in a technical mandate because it was voted no-confidence in August last year...

Sinčić states that when the government in a country is not what Brussels would like, then suddenly nothing goes right in that country, problems are brought up, subtle threats and blackmail are made.

"We have to ask ourselves what entry into the EU means for the citizens of Montenegro and whether these same citizens want to enter a community where they will have a subordinate, colonial, status of small countries on the periphery of the Union," he said.

Sinčić believes that in the event that judges of the Constitutional Court are not elected soon, any pressure from the EU is possible.

"But I think that the denial of financial aid through pre-accession programs and investments is an unlikely scenario. In any case, everything that comes from Brussels comes with concessions and conditions," he says.

The Constitutional Court is also political in Croatia

Sinčić states that, unfortunately, in Montenegro, as well as in Croatia, judges of the Constitutional Court are elected politically and are not completely independent.

"Constitutional courts are primarily political courts. Therefore, the existing crisis is essentially caused by the struggle of political parties for power. Until the citizens understand this and until they punish it, even if judges are elected tomorrow, the citizens will not gain much in the long term in terms of the development of democracy and living standards," he said.

The Constitutional Court has not had a quorum for work since September of last year, after Judge Miodrag Iličković retired, and three others were previously retired. After an unsuccessful attempt to elect judges in October, at the session of the Constitutional Committee at the beginning of this month, agreement was reached for three candidates, while the fourth was proposed to the Assembly by majority votes. The Assembly will decide on them at the session on February 27.

Judges of the United States are elected by a two-thirds majority, that is, by a three-fifths majority at the plenary session, on the proposal of the Constitutional Committee.

The representatives of the government and the opposition have agreed to support Snežana Armenko, Momirka Tešić and Dragana Đuranović, while Faruk Resulbegović does not have the necessary support for now, because he will not be supported by the DPS and the Bosniak Party, which demanded that the seat go to a Bosniak candidate.