The Parliamentary Committee for International Relations gave a positive opinion on the appointment of Čedomir Fuštić, Dragan Tufegdžić and Zoran Miljanić as ambassadors to Hungary, Slovenia and North Macedonia.
The president of the state, Jakov Milatović, sent the candidate proposal to the Board and asked them for their opinion on Fuštić, Tufegdžić and Miljanić.
At the beginning of the session, the representative of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Nikola Janović pointed out that "they act as if nothing is happening", and that "they are receiving messages from EU officials that they have problems in the last stage on the European road".
"This is the government that managed to make us quarrel with all our neighbors. We received protest notes for the sake of other people's interests. The question arises as to who bears the responsibility for the goal that 80 percent of the citizens want," said Janović and added that he had nothing against the candidate, but that the president and the prime minister are "treating children's diseases" behind the backs of citizens.
Fuštić, at the beginning of his presentation, pointed out that he worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from an internship to the title of ambassador. He added that for the last year and a half he was employed as a chargé d'affaires at the Montenegrin embassy in Budapest.
"Relations between Montenegro and Hungary are friendly, which confirms the intense political contact at all levels. Hungary is very important for us because it supports our European and before that NATO integrations," said Fuštić.
Fuštić said that the country also advocates for the integration of the region, and that they were present in the mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and he also pointed out the scholarships of the Hungarian government that Montenegrin university students receive.
Abaz Dizdarević (DPS) considered it worrisome that 27 ambassador positions are vacant because diplomacy is a "window to the world".
"We are witnessing the establishment of a new paradigm of the dysfunctionality of the state and state functions of the Montenegrin system. We have a kind of unnatural cohabitation of the president and the government," DIzdarević assessed and said that his party will only support career diplomats.
Dizdarević added that Montenegro does not have ambassadors in important centers of the world.
"Two years can be attributed to the dysfunctionality of cohabitation, but for the last two years there is no basis for tolerance, especially if we are talking about systems that are important for the country - the NATO system and the United Nations (UN) system, where no agreements are needed," said the deputy DPS.
Aleksandra Vuković Kuč (DPS) assessed that Montenegrin foreign relations are in a state of emergency "because of the retrograde policy since 2020".
"The fact that we do not have ambassadors in the largest world centers such as the USA, China, Russia... is the reason to talk about a state of emergency in the diplomacy of Montenegro. Previously, it was the fault of former president Milo Đukanović, but it is actually yours - the inconsistent coalition that is holding the state hostage," said the DPS MP.
She asked why a Croat is going to Croatia as a representative of Montenegrin diplomacy, a Bosniak is going to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the like, saying that the new majority is carrying out the nationalization of Montenegro.
Vuković Kuč pointed out that Milatović stated that he has a problem with certain candidates because they are "anti-Western", and on the other hand, according to her, "he conditioned the entry of the former Democratic Front (DF) into the Government".
"What makes these appointments even more scandalous is that they are political. At first there were 12 appointments, eight of which were political," she said.
The DPS deputy also recalled the case of Stanica Anđić, who received an agreement, but was not appointed by Milatović.
In the end, she asked Fuštić how he views Hungary's position in the EU, with reference to the increasingly frequent objections to the close cooperation between that country and Russia.
Member of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) Slaven Radunović said that "DPS stands for the values of Josip Broz Tito", and his party stands for Western values.
Vuković Kuč replied that her party leads a serious policy, and that Milatović called the politics of Radunović's party anti-Western.
Dritan Abazović, leader and representative of the Citizens' Movement (GP) URA, said that all three candidates should be discussed.
He recalled that he was the coordinator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and that "if they knew who all were sent as ambassadors, no one would speak".
"I would like to see where contact was not established, where Montenegro was not respected. We should send people there who will represent Montenegro, not the party," he stated and added that he would support all three candidates.
Fuštić, responding to a question from a DPS member of parliament, said that foreign policy must be sovereign, regardless of membership in the EU and NATO, but also that he understands Hungary because it is a landlocked country, and that it is not easy to transfer the existing infrastructure to another .
"That's how they see their foreign policy, they don't want to be included in blocs. Viktor Orbán's government has legitimacy in the elections and it's up to them to create foreign policy, and I'm not in a position to say whether that's good or bad. They will preside EU," he stated.
Vuković Kuč said that his answer showed that the decision of the DPS to support members who have five or more years of experience in diplomacy is correct.
The board unanimously gave a positive opinion that Fuštić should be elected ambassador to Budapest.
At the beginning of the presentation, Tufegdžić said that he spent most of his professional engagement in the private sector - in a construction company, but that he also worked in a school as a teacher of the economic group of subjects, and that he was also the director of the Post Office of Montenegro.
"As an embassy, we must not only be a protocol moment, but make an effort to come up with concrete projects," he pointed out.
Tufegdžić assessed that there is room for economic cooperation between Montenegro and Slovenia to rise to a higher level.
Vuković Kuč asked Tufegdžić how he comments on the activities of the Directorate for Inspection Affairs (UIP) in the Post of Montenegro, to which he replied that he trusts the legal department of that company.
Tufegdžić also said that he has left all leadership positions in the party, and Vuković Kuč added that she hopes to freeze the membership.
Chairman Duško Stjepović commented that the Democratic candidate is not obliged to do so because "he comes from the political quota".
With the votes of eight deputies in favor and two abstentions, the Committee gave a positive opinion on the appointment of Dragan Tufegdžić as ambassador to Ljubljana.
Miljanić said that this is his first time not appearing in parliament as a politician, but as a candidate for ambassador.
He stated that Montenegro has no problems with North Macedonia, but that the number of Montenegrins in that country has decreased during the last decades.
"First of all, I will deal with economic issues. In 2011, the airline was canceled and it was never returned. This cancellation reduces the intensity of economic cooperation," Miljanić pointed out and pointed out that the Sukobin border crossing, which is most often used by Macedonian tourists who come in Montenegro, big crowds.
He referred to the country's accession negotiations with the EU, which were blocked by Bulgaria, which is demanding that the Bulgarian and Croatian minorities enter the Constitution of North Macedonia, and Miljanić added that the Montenegrin minority was added by engaging the Montenegrin embassy in Sofia.
With the votes of eight deputies in favor and two abstentions, the Board gave a positive opinion on the appointment of Miljanić as ambassador to North Macedonia with residence in Skopje.
Bonus video:
