Spajić: It's time to turn to the future, otherwise we will become insignificant

Montenegro is small and ethnically diverse, and everything must be built through compromise, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said today at the Bled Strategic Forum, adding that the past that divides it must first be overcome in order to turn to the future.

"Inclusive action is needed that includes everyone. And when I say everyone, I don't mean Finns, Norwegians or Danes. I mean Montenegrins, Serbs, Albanians, Croats, Bosniaks... You can imagine the challenge this poses in Montenegro," said Spajić at the panel "Bled Pledge: A Dream or Reality?", which was also attended by the prime ministers of Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Robert Golob, Andrej Plenković and Edi Rama, the President of the European Council Antonio Košta and the European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.

Spajić said that Montenegro is building consensus around three key things: first, European integration, second, the economy, and third, the rule of law – "equal and fair treatment of all, regardless of ethnicity."

"And that's what's really important. I think we've largely succeeded in that. Today in Montenegro, we have Albanian, Serbian and Bosniak parties in power, and of course Montenegrin ones too, which was previously unthinkable," he said, responding to a question about what Montenegro is doing to put reforms above domestic political squabbles.

He recalled that Montenegro recently implemented a major reform - the parliament unanimously adopted the electoral reform (amendments to a set of electoral laws) - which is a huge success.

"It was impossible for decades. The same was true with the Constitutional Court and many other reforms that we were unable to implement for decades. Now we can do it, with more than two-thirds of the vote," Spajić said.

He said that in Montenegro there is a Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian, and Montenegrin language – and we all understand each other completely.

"Our culture is almost the same, if not exactly the same. The differences are minimal. And we have magnified them because we deal with the past, not the future. It is time to turn to the future. Otherwise, we will become insignificant," he warned.

He said that the next three to four years will be monumental in terms of change, in terms of huge advances in artificial intelligence and other technologies.

He believes that the advantage of small countries is that they do not have large industrial lobbies and can more easily introduce innovations and regulatory changes.

"Our administrations are relatively new and we can adapt more quickly. If this approach succeeds by the time we join the European Union (EU), let's expand it to the whole of Europe. This can be our contribution to the Union, because we should not only receive, but also give," Spajić said.

Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos stressed that enlargement remains a priority for the European Commission.

"We will open two more clusters for Albania this year... We are making progress with Montenegro," she said, adding that if the technical part of the accession negotiations is completed in 2026, then Montenegro could become the 2028th member of the EU in 28.

Albania, she said, could become the 29th member in 2029.

However, she stressed that the burden of responsibility lies with the countries in the region to implement reforms and that there must be no shortcuts.

"The accession process must be led by leaders who believe that EU membership is best for their countries and who are capable of introducing reforms. The rule of law, human rights, the fight against corruption, a free media - these are principles that are non-negotiable," Kos said.