The drive and enthusiasm due to the great progress of Montenegro in European integration in the first three months of the Government's work have been completely extinguished by the events of the last month, said Nemanja Stankov, a teaching associate at the Faculty of Political Sciences.
He said that the lawsuit filed by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Danilo Šaranović, to the Administrative Court and the vote of Maja Vukićević, a member of the Montenegrin delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PSSE), contrary to the government's foreign policy priorities, are just some of the indicators of how shaky the current coalition is.
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In an interview with the MINA agency, Stankov warned that the instability of the ruling coalition can only harm integration.
He pointed out that in the first few months of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić's government, a huge amount of work was done, reminding that the integration process had been unfrozen.
"However, in the last month, the drive and enthusiasm that arose as a result of that success have almost completely died down," said Stankov.
"It is of crucial importance to stop such practices. "Not only in the context of EU integration, but it is high time that, after the expert and minority government, Montenegro gets a stable government that will be able to fulfill its full mandate without major political conflicts," Stankov said.
When asked whether, under such circumstances, it is realistic to expect Montenegro to receive a positive Report on Fulfillment of Interim Benchmarks (IBAR) in June, Stankov assessed that this is possible as a positive signal and an affirmation of the progress achieved in the first three months of the Government's work.
"However, the work is not finished," Stankov stressed.
According to him, it is difficult to assess whether the fragile balance of power in the ruling coalition will be maintained until June.
"Which would potentially represent the biggest risk in this area," Stankov pointed out.
He pointed out that the adoption of a quality Strategy for the fight against corruption is one of the additional activities that could strengthen the position of Montenegro before June.
"Its creation and adoption is not taking place at a satisfactory pace," said Stankov.
Commenting on the postponement of the resolution of certain political issues for the period after receiving the IBAR, as well as the processes that await Montenegro in the integration after that, Stankov recalled the optimistic announcements that during the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU, up to ten negotiation chapters could be closed.
"If it really comes to that, it will, above all, be a consequence of Viktor Orbán's regime's aspirations to, through the historically most successful European policy, the enlargement policy, once again present itself as a reliable partner at the European level, after several months of open opposition to the continued involvement of the EU in the Russian the Ukrainian war on the Ukrainian side," explained Stankov.
He emphasized that the integration of Montenegro into the EU cannot be seen as a geopolitical inevitability.
"The process cannot be completed if there is no political will and stability in Montenegro that will carry out the reform processes and speed up that process as much as possible", said Stankov.
Commenting on the crises in certain municipalities, Stankov pointed out that the political conflicts that exist at the state level are not isolated, but also spill over into local governments.
According to him, overcomposition in the Assembly of the Capital City is an additional example of a deep division in the ruling coalition at the state level.
"It is difficult to expect progress in integration if we are constantly in some kind of political uncertainty. The government must take a clear, concrete and decisive course of action, and this is not possible if political fires are put out on a daily basis," Stankov emphasized.
Answering the question about Vukićević's vote in the PSSE, Stanković pointed out that she was guided by party interests and not the official foreign policy guidelines of the Government.
"It is a paradoxical fact that Deputy Vukićević is a member of the PSSE as a representative of the parliamentary majority of the Parliament of Montenegro, and that during the vote she was guided by the party's views, and not by the official foreign policy guidelines of the Government or the parliamentary majority that she basically represents," explained Stankov.
He reminded that in this specific situation, Montenegro has a "remedial deadline", because the official decision on the admission of Kosovo will be made within the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), and the vote within that body will carry greater political weight.
That, as he pointed out, does not negate the fact that trust has been shaken.
Stanković assessed that one gets the impression that each of the constituents of the parliamentary majority behaves independently, introducing uncertainty and unpredictability into official state policies.
Answering the question whether Russia's influence poses a threat to Montenegrin's Euro-Atlantic commitment, regional relations, and internal issues, Stankov reminded that Montenegro is extremely vulnerable to malignant external influences.
"We should not forget that the beginning of these processes is primarily related to Montenegro's membership in NATO, but also that it has been visible for many years continuously," said Stankov.
As he added, as a society we must not forget that liberal-democratic principles and values must be affirmed day by day.
"Liberal democracy is a living organism, which in the current time no longer dies suddenly, but on the contrary, autocracies are gradually created, constantly tearing apart essential democratic values and principles," Stankov emphasized.
He warned that these processes are almost always supported by foreign disruptive factors.
"It is extremely important that we develop the ability to recognize and deal with external threats, both in the real world and in the online space," Stankov said.
Commenting on the importance of external influences in the context of relations in the region, Stanković pointed to the statement of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, who, during his address to the public, said that the Montenegrin Minister of European Affairs, Maida Gorčević, after Vukićević's vote against the admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe, "went to Pristina to apologise. Americans".
He emphasized that no one in the public space should be exposed to belittling and degrading comments, stating that the insults uttered against Gorčević are not only an insult to her, but also to Montenegrin institutions and the state.
"It is necessary that these comments do not pass without a public response from Montenegrin officials. Protecting the dignity of the state and its representatives must be at the top of the priority list, even at the cost of worsening relations with neighboring states," Stankov said.
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