Montenegro has achieved a lot since October last year and the member states of the European Union (EU) are aware of that big step forward, based on political will, assessed the Belgian ambassador to Montenegro and Serbia. Cathy Bugenhout.
She said in an interview with "Vijesta" that the EU accession process will always be based on merit and that, when all conditions for membership are met, Montenegro will become part of the EU.
However, he says that receiving a positive Report on the Assessment of the Fulfillment of Temporary Benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24 (IBAR) is a combination of two factors - the political decision of the EU and the merits of the Montenegrin authorities.
The intergovernmental conference of Montenegro and the EU, at which it is expected that a positive IBAR will be formally received, will be held on Wednesday, June 26, at the end of the six-month Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU.
Belgium ends its six-month EU presidency at the end of June. What do you consider a success of the presidency and what a failure?
From the very beginning, we had to speed up the presidency for the simple reason that the European Parliament was ending its legislative cycle at the end of April. So, there were about 150 legislative proposals on the table that needed to be finalized, with the European Parliament (EP) and the Commission in trilogues. In the context of the regular EU legislative procedure, trialogues are informal inter-institutional negotiations that bring together representatives of the EP, the Council of the EU, this time represented by the Belgian Presidency, and the European Commission (EC). The most important thing for the Western Balkans was that the European Parliament approved the Reform and Growth Fund on April 8.
From what I hear from colleagues, our presidency has been successful. As for failures, I don't know of any so far. But, at the end of the presidency, we make a kind of summary, and that will be on June 30. Maybe then we will see things that were not fully implemented, but that does not mean that it is a failure, because the Hungarian EU Presidency will continue the work that we have not been able to finish. But I can't name any failures so far. Everyone agrees that, with just seven days to go, Belgium have done a good job. In English they call it a "roller coaster", so we had a roller coaster, especially with the Growth Plan (for the Western Balkans). I think it was a great success for the whole region.
You mentioned the European Parliament. The election for his new convocation was held a few weeks ago. Are you satisfied with their outcome?
The outcome actually confirms that the EU countries are democracies, which I think is fundamental to say, and also that the parties of the center, despite the victories on the extreme sides, held up very well. Ursula von der Lajen, the president of the EC, said the same.
But what we also saw, and this is my personal observation, is that there is a lot of discontent. Many people living in the EU voted for anti-migration, anti-establishment parties who are dissatisfied with the current way of life. For me, this means that we need a stronger EU. Because what does the EU stand for? For democratic values, but also for prosperity. You know that the EU is a project of prosperity and stability. I come from a founding country of the EU, so I feel comfortable saying that again.
Russian aggression in Ukraine, the energy crisis, all this right after covid - it is clear that some people feel neglected. So I see in the results of the European elections that people are expressing concern for their well-being. It is obvious that we have failed, as EU countries together, to respond to their concerns. It also means that we have to work on the foundations of the EU, which is an internal market with shared prosperity. And that is definitely a task that the next European Commission will deal with.
Are you worried that right-wing parties won significantly more seats in the EP than they had?
I am never worried, because the voice of the people is what counts. It is important that governments in countries where citizens have expressed support for the far right take on the task of improving the lives of all citizens. The government's task is to improve the lives of all citizens. This means that some adjustments are needed in national policies to address these concerns. Also, it is the duty of all citizens to contribute to an inclusive society - either in Belgium or in Montenegro. All people must be involved. That doesn't mean you have to agree on everything - it doesn't. The value of democracy is that there are different opinions. But what is most fundamental is that there is dialogue, that citizens' concerns are addressed and that measures are taken that make people feel good in their countries.
How much can the situation in the EU be affected by the fact that the biggest losers of the election are French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz?
I don't have a specific opinion about it. I believe that if you don't live in a country, you have no right to talk about its politics. The only thing I can say is that it is obvious that in both Germany and France some people, 20-30 percent of them, voted to express their dissatisfaction. That dissatisfaction needs to be analyzed, and the government needs to address those issues and respond to concerns.
You recently said in an interview for "European Western Balkans" that the political will of the new Montenegrin government to become a member of the EU is incredible. Is it strictly a political assessment or do you see real reforms? If you see, what are the reforms?
I see many reforms. Since October 2022, when I became a non-resident ambassador here, I have witnessed a fragile period in Montenegro, with the government in a technical mandate. There has been some work in the process of your country's accession to the EU. Accession to the EU is a technical process, there are over 30 chapters with technical criteria that need to be met. So it's a very painstaking job.
The Europe Now movement, after the elections, showed its commitment to return Montenegro to the European enlargement path. So yes, they started working. When she is my minister of foreign affairs Aja Labib was here in November 2023 to present the program of our EU Presidency, we spoke with the Minister (Philip) Ivanovic, Deputy Prime Minister (Alex) I will be in Vienna, minister (Maidom) Gorcevic, the president of the state (Jacob) Milatović. And everyone conveyed the same message to Minister Labib: "We want to move forward." And that conviction was very refreshing after a long period of a more complex political situation.
The government did what it said it would do. They changed the laws on the judiciary, elected judges of the Constitutional Court. That was the first step, in January. Then work began on the fight against corruption, organized crime, on deeper cooperation with Eurojust and Europol, on strengthening the criminal justice system. New (legal) provisions were introduced to deal with war crimes, and work began on the very important independence of the media. An agreement was concluded with Frontex on migration, which is a big issue in the EU. So we have seen a lot of results, and EU member states are aware of this giant step forward, based on political will.
Now, under the Belgian chairmanship, on June 26, there will be an Intergovernmental Conference to finalize the criteria for Chapters 23 and 24, we hope. During the Belgian presidency in 2010, Belgium was already a kind of talisman for Montenegro because your country then received the status of a candidate for the EU. So I hope that the talisman of Belgium will remain at your side for many, many years until you become a member of the EU.
The principle of enlargement has been politically agreed and is no longer subject to debate. But it is a merit based process. It will always be based on merit for each individual candidate country.
You mentioned that Montenegro changed several laws. Some individuals and parties criticized the changes to the law, saying they were passed in haste. Could that be the problem?
In any democratic country, it is normal for there to be political debates in parliament about laws and regulations. It is the same in my country. That is why there are different political parties. When opinions differ, there will be arguments. That is the essence of democracy.
In my country there are also laws that are criticized. And some laws do not pass the parliament. For example, we had a bill on tax reform proposed by the finance minister, but some political parties could not agree with the bill and it was not adopted. So this happens in every country.
But here it was the case that almost all parties voted for those laws, but some say that the problem is that those 12 acts were changed in a few days...
I can't comment on that because I don't know enough about it. I am a lawyer and I always look at the text from a legal point of view.
Montenegro is well on its way to the EU, and there is political will to continue with the accession process. Does this mean that if there are bad laws, they should be allowed to pass? It is a political decision of the Montenegrin Government. It is not up to the ambassador to comment on that. It is up to the citizens of Montenegro, who have representatives in the parliament, to express their opinion about it.
Are you satisfied with the results of Montenegro in the fight against organized crime and corruption?
In order to join the EU, national legislation must be harmonized with EU laws. In the EU, we must adhere to the rule of law. There is no place for organized crime, no place for corruption.
What, in your opinion, is the biggest problem of Montenegro in the negotiations with the EU, and why has the country been in this process for 12 years?
All people must be convinced that the country will become better when it joins the EU. I spent seven months in this region in 1996, it was a long time ago, it was very different, the country was still part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. I was not in Montenegro when your country received candidate status.
I can only say that when the Government was formed, all ministers agreed to implement the program together. Parties, which are in government, usually have a majority in parliament, unless it is a minority government. Parliament supports government policies. From October 2023, this is the case in Montenegro.
I always say that you should not look back, but forward. The next step in the EU accession process is to prepare the closing chapter. The Montenegrin authorities have already indicated that some chapters are ready to be closed. It will be reviewed again by the European Commission and objectively tested whether those chapters are really ready to be closed. If this is the case, the chapters will be closed. You can change the future. You can influence the future. But you can't influence the past. That's why it's a waste of time to look back...
By when do you think Montenegro could become a member of the EU?
I can't say. When the president (Milatović) assumed his mandate, he said in his inaugural speech that Montenegro would become a member of the EU in 2028, as the 28th member.
Extension is a merit-based process. When all conditions for membership are met, Montenegro will become a member. But I can't fix the exact date. Every time there is progress, we, all 27 EU members, are ready to recognize progress, based on objective parameters and merits.
Montenegro will officially receive IBAR in a few days. In your opinion, will it be more of a political decision of the EU or is there a real merit for Montenegro?
It's a combination. The credit must be there. Yes. When the merits are there, the Commission makes an assessment, and the assessment is positive, but there are some open questions in those temporary benchmarks, which still need to be closed. Then the question is: is it enough to make a political decision on meeting the criteria and agree with the assessment that the Commission proposes? It is a political element.
Do you expect that the ruling majority in Montenegro will remain stable after the country receives IBAR, bearing in mind the announced reconstruction of the Government?
If I am not mistaken, the reconstruction of the government was agreed during the formation of the government itself. And if I'm not mistaken, there was no exact deadline.
This is said to happen by the end of the year.
When it's agreed, I think people should keep their word, because that's how responsible political actors act. It is not related to IBAR. This is related to the agreement reached between the parties during the formation of the government. That is how I, as a true democrat, coming from an old country with a strong democracy, would interpret the agreement that was reached.
It is important to have strong administrations
When do you expect Montenegro to receive the first tranche of money from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans?
The growth plan is a very important tool because it enables two things: integration at the regional level and getting closer to the EU internal market, as well as strengthening administrations. It is important to have strong administrations.
I'm not an expert on the Growth Plan. The total funds amount to six billion euros, of which two billion euros do not have to be returned, while four billion are in the form of grants with a favorable interest rate. The projects that will be financed derive from the reform agenda that each candidate country must submit. We are still waiting for that reform agenda. I believe that the Montenegrin Government emphasizes infrastructure projects. This is important in order for the country to open up and attract foreign direct investment.
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