The current Citizenship Law represents a potential problem for the Montenegrin diaspora in Luxembourg, it was stated at a meeting between the Speaker of the Parliament, Andrija Mandić, and his Luxembourg counterpart, Claude Vissel.
As announced by the Parliament, Mandić spoke with Vissel during the Conference of Speakers of Parliaments of European Union (EU) Member States, which is being held in Budapest.
Mandić emphasized the importance of Luxembourg's continued support for Montenegro on its path to the EU, emphasizing that Luxembourg, with a population similar to Montenegro's, represents a true example of success and the European standard of living to which Montenegro also aspires.
The statement states that a special segment of the conversation is dedicated to the topic of the numerous Montenegrin emigrant community in Luxembourg.
"It has been noted that the current Law on Citizenship, which revokes Montenegrin citizenship if a person accepts the citizenship of another country, poses a potential problem for our diaspora, potentially opening the possibility of challenging Montenegrin citizenship for those expatriates who acquired Luxembourg citizenship after that law came into force," the statement said.
It is added that Mandić and Vesel agreed that it is necessary for the two countries to nurture ties that are primarily reflected in these people and that changing the citizenship policy would be a step in the right direction.
"Wiesel emphasized that Luxembourg also had similar restrictive laws and that their removal 20 years ago created a much better social picture and that the change in these legal solutions had a great impact on the quality of life in that country," the statement said.
Vesel, as reported, concluded that he would be pleased to visit Montenegro in the coming period and that Montenegro would have the full professional support of his colleagues from the Luxembourg parliament on all issues, including the possible amendment of that legal solution.
As announced by the Parliament, Mandić emphasized at the meeting with Vesel that Montenegro, thanks to the successfully prepared Reform Agenda, has the opportunity to use EUR 383,4 million from European funds, and that Montenegro's recent entry into the SEPA system has enabled faster and more efficient financial payments.
It is stated that special attention was paid to the significant results achieved at the end of last year when Montenegro closed three important negotiation chapters with the EU.
"The goal is to close all negotiation chapters by the end of 2026 and for Montenegro to become the first EU member state in 2028," the statement said.
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