The spokeswoman for the European Commission (EC), Zoi Muletije, told Vijestije yesterday that the institution expects to adopt reports on the progress of the countries in October, and that the exact date will be announced later.
She announced this in response to a question from Vijesta whether the EC is considering the possibility of postponing the publication of the annual report, which the Commission usually presents in October, at the request of the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović.
"The commission is currently working on the annual enlargement reports, which for the first time cover ten states. We expect to adopt them (the reports) in October. The exact date will be announced later," said Muletije.
News from Milatović's cabinet expects answers to the questions whether the head of state is in contact with the EC on this occasion and whether there are indications that the publication of the document on the progress of Montenegro could possibly be delayed.
Almost a month ago, on the eve of his visit to Brussels, Milatović announced that he would demand this in order to give the government and parliament more time to achieve results.
"The two governments failed to complete the key reforms in conjunction with the parliament... In this direction, I decided to travel to Brussels next week, where I will explain things in a conversation with the MPs, present a different vision, and I hope that after after the talks, some things will be clearer and that the talks will influence the declaration on Montenegro that they should make in September-October. I will also ask for the progress report to be postponed in order to give time to the new parliament and the government to start things up a bit," the president announced at the time.
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Milatović gave a similar explanation in Brussels, at the session of the Foreign Policy Committee of the European Parliament (EP), saying that he asked for a postponement for just a few weeks, so that the new executive and legislative authorities could "technically refer to parts of the report".
"It is clear to me that it should be coordinated with the other countries of the Western Balkans, but that will be decided by the EC", he added on that occasion.
Milatović said this in response to the question of the EP rapporteur for Montenegro, Tonin Picula, who assessed that delaying the presentation of the report would be an unprecedented case.
"The annual report serves to evaluate together how countries are progressing individually, but also in comparison. Here we want to emphasize that we see the expansion process as a process based on merit, but also as a regatta", he pointed out.
While waiting for the annual report, Montenegro received a non-paper from the EC at the end of June on the state of the rule of law.
In that document, which covers events from June of last year to March of this year, it is written that the state has lost focus on key EU reforms, especially in the area of the rule of law, that the entire judicial system is still facing a deep institutional crisis, that the Judicial Council has not been completed , that the supreme state prosecutor has not been elected, that many institutions are in an acting state...
It was also stated that there was no progress in investigations, prosecutions and trials for old cases of violence against journalists and media workers...
Similar assessments were made in the latest progress report, which, among other things, states that political instability, unstable governments and tensions within the ruling majority, delay in the decision-making process and the implementation of reforms have affected the proper functioning of institutions.
The document states that political tensions, polarization, absence of constructive engagement between political parties and failure to build consensus on key issues of national interest continued... It was assessed that the conclusion of the Fundamental Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church affected the political atmosphere and raised tensions.
On the other hand, it was stated that some progress was achieved in the field of fighting organized crime, and a good rating was received for the economic criteria.
In 11 years of negotiations with the EU, Montenegro opened all negotiation chapters (33), and temporarily closed only three.
News from Milatović's cabinet expects answers to the questions whether the head of state is in contact with the EC on this occasion and whether there are indications that the publication of the document on the progress of Montenegro could possibly be delayed.
Apart from Montenegro, the EC prepares annual reports for seven more candidates for membership - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine, and two potential candidates - Georgia and Kosovo.
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