The European Commission's (EC) assessment of the insufficient fulfillment of reform steps to receive money from the Growth Plan shows that institutions in Montenegro have neither the strength nor the will to implement essential reforms, so the Government's promise to close all negotiation chapters by the end of next year is a great challenge.
Thus, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" comment on the fact that the EC, when approving the first tranche of money from the Western Balkans Growth Plan for Montenegro, estimated that out of the 14 steps from the Reform Agenda, which were to be fulfilled by the end of February, the Government had not fully implemented seven. Therefore, on Wednesday, the Commission approved the first regular tranche from the Plan for Montenegro in the amount of 10,2 million euros, and not 18 million, as the executive branch, headed by Milojko Spajić, (Europe Now Movement) expected.
The Ministry of European Affairs (MEP), however, states that the Plan is a new instrument and that it took time for both the EC and the Western Balkan countries to become familiar with its methodology and mechanisms, and therefore they do not consider the amount of the first tranche to be a concern.
"The first semi-annual report (on the implementation of the Reform Agenda) has shown that our institutions are capable of assuming and implementing complex obligations in short terms," MEP told "Vijesti".
They stated that after the institutions initially assessed that 14 out of 10 planned steps had been completed, in communication with the European Commission and through their official assessment of the First Semi-Annual Report, it was confirmed that seven steps had been fully implemented, while the Commission considered seven to have been initiated but not fully implemented within the planned deadline (by February 28).
Among the unfulfilled steps are the non-harmonized visa policy, the improvement of integrity in inspection services, as well as the complete transposition of the electricity integration package in line with the requirements of the Energy Community (EC).
Docent at the University of Donja Gorica Nikoleta Djukanovic warns that at this pace, closing all chapters by the end of next year is not feasible. According to her, it is enough to look at the data: of the 14 steps from the Reform Agenda that had to be completed by the end of February, half have not been implemented, while in 2024 only 57 percent of the obligations from the Accession Program have been implemented.
"This is a worse result than in the years before 2020, when the rate of implementation of obligations was on average 71-75 percent, and this was in a period when the number of obligations was higher than today. There is no progress in 2025 either. In the first half of the year, the Government fulfilled less than two-thirds of the planned obligations. This clearly shows that the promise that the negotiations will be completed within a year and a half is unrealistic and irresponsible," Đukanović told "Vijesti".
Negotiations on Montenegro's accession to the EU began on 29 June 2012. Since then, Montenegro has opened all 33 chapters and temporarily closed seven (three at the end of last year and one in June this year). The government has repeatedly said that it plans to close all chapters by the end of next year, in order to implement the ambitious plan for Montenegro to become a member of the EU in 2028.
Former Minister of European Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Jovana Marović says that much more serious efforts are needed to close a large number of chapters in just over a year. He believes that, on the one hand, limited administrative capacities can be taken into account for some unrealized activities, while, on the other hand, there is no justification for Montenegro not, for example, harmonizing its visa policy with the EU, “because this sends the message that the value framework is on hold.”
"It is clear that the government 'traded' and took into account the 'possibility' of postponing this and receiving the planned money later upon fulfillment, but that does not send a good message to European partners," Marović warned for "Vijesti".
MEPs said that EU regulation 2024/1449, which established the Reform and Growth Instrument for the Western Balkans, provides for the possibility of an additional 24-month deadline for fulfilling obligations.
Executive Director of the Center for Democracy (CEDEM) Nevenka Vuksanović He points out that the Government has received a clear reform mandate and that there is no excuse for delays. He states that closing all chapters by the end of next year is a huge challenge.
"This can only be achieved with more discipline in planning and faster dynamics. We have a real chance of closing the chapter, because we have international support, and therefore instructions and knowledge. What is missing is political will and better organization to achieve the result," Vuksanović told the newspaper.
The implementation of reforms from the Reform Agenda, which the Government adopted at the end of September last year, is a condition for receiving money from the Reform and Growth Instrument under the Growth Plan. The plan is a combination of grants and soft loans for the region of six billion euros for the period 2024-2027. 383,5 million euros have been provided for Montenegro, of which 110 million euros are grants and 273,5 million euros are soft loans.
The European Commission allocated seven percent of the total amount as a kind of pre-financing, and the rest was divided into six semi-annual tranches of support, depending on the level of implementation of the planned reforms. Montenegro received the pre-financing of 26,85 million euros on May 15 this year.
The reform agenda contains a total of 32 reform measures within four priority sectors - business environment and private sector development, digital and energy/green transition, human capital development, rule of law and fundamental rights, and 14 sub-sectors.
Among the obligations this year are changes to electoral legislation and amendments to the Constitution in line with the EU acquis and European standards on the independence, accountability, integrity, impartiality and professionalism of the judiciary and prosecution. Obligations by the end of the year include, among others, improving the legislative framework and focusing on the informal economy, filling vacant positions in the competent courts for the fight against corruption, establishing a single database on domestic violence, amending and supplementing the Law on Foreigners in the part relating to visas and visa policy...
“THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT SPEEDING UP THE PROCESS, BUT SABOTING IT”
Nikoleta Đukanović says that the EC's assessment indicates that institutions in Montenegro not only lack sufficient strength, but above all, they lack the political will to implement essential reforms.
"Instead of strengthening the rule of law, which is a basic prerequisite for European integration, we are witnessing gross violations of the law, lack of transparency, discrimination and increasingly pronounced partitocracy. Instead of demonstrating to citizens and international partners a true commitment to European values, the majority in power is implementing retrograde and anti-European policies, while parliamentary discourses are increasingly marked by nationalist and discriminatory attitudes that are undermining the foundations of civil society," she said.
In addition, she added, nepotism, party recruitment, marginalization of the civil sector and persecution of critics indicate that the government is not ready to democratize and Europeanize society, but to maintain privileges and control. When added to this, she said, ignoring the recommendations of the Venice Commission, changes to laws passed after receiving the green light from Brussels, and deteriorating relations with neighbors - "it is clear that the government is not accelerating the integration process, but is actually sabotaging it."
When asked whether the Government is counting on the European Commission to turn a blind eye to it, as it did for the IBAR (Report on the Assessment of the Fulfillment of Final Benchmarks for Chapters in the Rule of Law), it replies that it is possible.
"While it is possible that the EC, for political reasons, will occasionally turn a blind eye to weaknesses, as was the case with IBAR, this will not open the door to membership for Montenegro. The EU should demand real, in-depth reforms, especially in the area of the rule of law, and this Government is showing that it has neither the capacity nor the will for such reforms," she said.
Nevenka Vuksanović states that the difference between the Government's assessment and the EC's assessment of the fulfillment of reform tasks has shown two weaknesses - "that we do not have objective quality control mechanisms and that the fulfillment of reform steps is poorly planned, as well as that there are delays in implementation". It is quite clear, she adds, that the obligations from the negotiation process and those from the Reform Agenda are demanding and that it is difficult to fully harmonize them.
"But that is precisely the test of our administration's capacity - to show that we are able to fulfill both sets of obligations equally seriously. Given that the Commission has assessed Montenegro as a credible partner and the most successful country in the region, we must justify it," the interviewee concluded.
MEP: REAL CLOSING OF CHAPTERS NEXT YEAR
The MEP says that, thanks to the additional deadline provided for by EU regulations, the implementation of unfulfilled obligations from the Reform Agenda is underway, and four of those seven steps have been assessed as fully fulfilled, according to the Second Semi-Annual Report adopted by the Government on July 10.
"So, it's not about the weakness of the institutions, but about the complexity of the processes and administrative procedures," said the MEP.
When asked how the country will, at this pace, close all chapters by the end of next year, the MEPs respond that Montenegro has a clearly defined dynamics of the negotiation process that has been agreed with the EC and which they are adhering to.
"This means that each subsequent step is not ad hoc, but the result of a coordinated plan and regular assessments by the EC. Our ambition to close all negotiation chapters by the end of next year is realistic precisely because there is a clear schedule of obligations, constant coordination with European partners and a strong political will to make European integration a priority. We are convinced that with this dynamic, Montenegro will meet expectations and become the first next EU member," the MEPs concluded.
Đukanović: Reforms also mean the abolition of privileges
Nikoleta Đukanović says that the government is aware that reforms would mean the abolition of the privileges they enjoy, which is why, she claims, they are choosing empty rhetoric and simulating integration instead of commitments.
"If Montenegro wants the negotiations to gain new momentum, it needs political elites who have the vision and willingness to implement unpopular but necessary changes. Both the government before 2020 and the current one have shown that the fight for positions and privileges is more important to them than a truly European transformation of society," she said.
Marović: It's harder to turn a blind eye to unpreparedness when it leads to membership
Jovana Marović believes that it was easier for IBAR to "look the other way" because it is a technical step that should lead to more serious reforms and implementation of what was adopted. She adds that it is much harder to turn a blind eye to unpreparedness when it should lead to membership.
He reminds us that it has been commented on several times that in the end it is always a political decision whether or not a country will be admitted to the EU, but for that to happen - "seriousness, commitment and clear positioning, as well as as few unfulfilled criteria and obligations as possible, help."
"A huge amount of work lies ahead, and the extent to which we are lagging behind can be seen in the level of implementation of the Accession Programme, and it is particularly worrying that the logic of 'after IBAR, a flood' is present, because the rhetoric of 'redirecting forces and energy' does not hold water, since there is no closure of negotiations until tangible results in the rule of law are demonstrated, and the obligations of the Ministry of Justice do not overlap with the obligations of the Ministry of Agriculture at this stage," she stated.
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