Vetting is the most important process and a prerequisite for the complete recovery of Montenegrin institutions, announced Aleksa Bečić, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Montenegro for Security, Defense, Fight against Crime and Internal Policy.
His office announced that Bečić hosted a reception for the German delegation, led by the Minister of the Interior of Saxony-Anhalt, Tamara Zišang, at the Šipčanik Wine Cellar.
The statement added that the delegation also included members of the Lower Saxony state parliament, as well as representatives of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation.
Bečić said that "the 44th Government has been acting in three directions from the start: Montenegro as a factor of stability in the Western Balkans, Montenegro as a credible member of NATO, and Montenegro as the first member of the European Union, which is our remaining foreign policy goal."
"This Government enjoys the support of about two-thirds of the Montenegrin Parliament, which provides much-needed political stability, especially important for the continuation of European integration. I am proud that in this process, it was the Ministry of Internal Affairs that made a key contribution to obtaining a positive IBAR in June 2024. This unblocked our European path, after which three chapters were closed, then this year we also closed the very demanding Chapter 5 (public procurement), and by the end of the year we expect to close several negotiation chapters. We have also established an action plan for closing Chapters 23 and 24 with clearly defined goals, activities, bearers, deadlines and success indicators. Our goal is to become the 2028th member in 28 and all capacities are directed towards that," Bečić emphasized.
He added that it is extremely important that, in accordance with the recommendations of European partners, urgent changes are made to electoral legislation, especially in the area of unifying local elections and relaxing the political scene of frequent electoral processes.
"After eight local election processes during the mandate of this Government, which covered around 60% of the electorate and the two largest cities in the country, where the state government parties won and formed the government in almost all municipalities, and everyone had the opportunity to test their support from center to center, now is the time for Montenegro to relax the electoral processes until the second half of 2027, in order to reduce the tensions caused by constant election campaigns, and to direct all capacities and factors of society towards closing the remaining negotiation chapters and successfully finishing the negotiation chapter," said Bečić.
The statement states that speaking about the rule of law, Bečić emphasized the state's determined fight against organized crime.
"The state has entered into a historic showdown with tobacco and drug cartels and all other forms of crime. Today, we finally have professional, honest and courageous people at the helm of key institutions that are crucial for success in this most important fight, and where, in cooperation with international partners, we are achieving historic results. Those accused of serious crimes are today either in the dock, in prison, on the run with a tendency to constantly be located and brought to justice, or waiting their turn for the institutions to strike, but there is no one left who can be stronger than the state, who can be protected or who will be allowed to ever again turn state institutions into outposts of criminal structures. That is why vetting is the most important process and a prerequisite for the complete recovery of Montenegrin institutions," said Bečić.
The statement said that Qishang stressed "strong support for the fight against crime and corruption and the ongoing vetting process in the security sector."
"The fight against corruption that you are leading is crucial for citizens' trust in institutions, but also for Montenegro's reputation in the international community. We are particularly pleased that you have raised the topic of environmental crime, because, in the country I come from, we had many challenges with it in the 1990s and we believe that it is important today to develop awareness of the harm that environmental crime brings to modern societies," said Cishang.
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