The European Parliament's (EP) Foreign Affairs Committee adopted its 2024 report on Monday, in which, among other things, it welcomes the progress Montenegro has made in meeting the interim benchmarks for negotiation chapters 23 and 24, and encourages the country to continue to make progress and quickly implement reforms on its path to the EU.
Four amendments were submitted to the report, drafted by the Committee's chairman, German MEP David McAllister, regarding the part welcoming Podgorica's progress. Among them was an amendment by Croatian MEP Davor Ivo Štir (Croatian Democratic Union), who stated that he was concerned about "foreign interference, the rise of anti-Western rhetoric and division in Montenegro", as well as "controversial legislative proposals on citizenship and foreign agents".
Štir, along with four other MEPs from Croatia, addressed the then EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, at the end of September last year, stating that if the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship were changed, "Montenegrins could become a minority in their own country."
The head of parliament and one of the leaders of the "For the Future of Montenegro" coalition, Andrija Mandić, has repeatedly said that dual citizenship with Serbia should be introduced.
On the other hand, since the end of last year, the opposition has been asking the authorities to sign an agreement with them that would guarantee that amendments to the Constitution and the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship will not be adopted without "absolute consensus."
When it comes to the "law on foreign agents", the adoption of this regulation is also advocated by Mandić's alliance, but this idea has been met with harsh condemnation from opposition parties and the civil sector.
An amendment to the EP report was also submitted by French MEPs Jordan Bardella, Pierre-Romain Thione, Mathieu Vallée and Italian MEP Roberto Vanacci. They said they were calling on the EU to end the enlargement process if it cannot manage it.
Bulgarian representative in the EP, Andrei Kovachev, stated in the amendment that he "condemns attempts by Russia and neighboring countries to exploit ethnic tensions in Montenegro to incite conflicts and divide communities."
"Note the use of the Serbian Orthodox Church as an instrument of external influence and condemn its interference in that context," the amendment reads.
The amendment proposed by MEPs Sven Mikser, Lucia Annundziata, Nicola Cinagreti, Tice Reuten, Alessandra Moretti, Giorgio Gori, Tobias Kremer and Yiannis Maniatis states, among other things, that they regret "the fact that high political tensions and polarization in Montenegro have slowed down progress in EU-related reforms", and that they emphasize "the importance of the new government being capable and committed to implementing EU-related reforms and keeping Montenegro on the strategic path towards the EU..."
The EP session to discuss the adoption of the report is scheduled for March 10th.
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