Continuous attacks on representatives of the media community and civil society organizations, proposing laws that restrict human rights and freedoms, historical revisionism and denial of verdicts of international war crimes tribunals - are just some of the political practices that call into question Montenegro's historic chance of possible EU accession by the end of the decade.
This is stated in the non-paper of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) on the situation in Montenegro and the region. The creators of this informal document, which was submitted to officials and representatives of the European Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament and think tanks in Brussels, are the head of the DPS Parliamentary Group Andrija Nikolić and Head of the Committee for EU Integration in the Parliament of Montenegro Ivan Vukovic.
A non-paper is an informal diplomatic document that has no official status, but is used to convey ideas, proposals, or test the reactions of other parties, without official obligation.
They state in the non-paper that the dominant political force in the ruling coalition in Montenegro is made up of Greater Serbian nationalists and proven enemies of the European system of values, led by the President of the Parliament. Andrija Mandić, “a close ally of the autocratic president of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić and the until recently secessionist president of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik".
"Contrary to pro-European rhetoric, the majority of the ruling majority is trying to undo the valuable results that we, as a state, have achieved in terms of European integration in the previous period," the MPs state.
They recall that during the rule of the DPS and coalition partners (until August 2020), Mandić's Democratic Front, "whose ideological and political profile is similar to that of the AFD (Alternative for Germany)", won less than 20 percent of the vote in the elections.
"The extent to which the political scene in Montenegro has changed is evidenced by the results of the recent local elections in Nikšić, the second largest city in the country, in which Mandić's party won 34 percent of the vote. And while the extreme right is gaining strength, the Prime Minister Milojko Spajic and his declaratively pro-European PES are losing political ratings," the non-paper writes.
DPS warns that all of this is negatively reflecting on the attitude of Montenegrin citizens towards the European integration process, which is why, according to the latest Eurobarometer results, their support for Montenegro's membership in the EU has fallen from the previous 79 percent to 60 percent.
Montenegro in constitutional crisis
They remind that Montenegro is also in a constitutional crisis, because the Constitutional Court is currently functioning with only four out of seven judges, and the mandate of one more of them will expire by the end of the year.
"The problems with the Constitutional Court culminated when in December last year the parliamentary majority unlawfully retired a judge from that court. This decision provoked a sharp reaction from the opposition, whose position was confirmed in the recommendations of the Venice Commission," it states.
Although, as it is added, the Prime Minister and opposition leaders signed an agreement on the implementation of the recommendations of the Venice Commission, that agreement has not been implemented to date.
The DPS says that, in this sense, the authority of the EU Delegation in Montenegro is also being tested, because if the government ignores the signature of the EU ambassador Johan Satler on the agreement between the prime minister and the opposition, the story of commitment to the rule of law and European integration is completely collapsing.
Dragani Đuranović The parliament, based on the conclusion of the Constitutional Committee, declared her termination of office at the end of last year because she had reached the retirement age in accordance with the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, while the judges of the Constitutional Court were terminated under the Labor Law. In protest, the opposition left the parliament and blocked the Committee for the Reform of Electoral Legislation. After part of the opposition, with the mediation of the Head of the EU Delegation in Podgorica, Johan Sattler, signed an agreement with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić on March 15 to resolve the political crisis, the opposition returned to the parliamentary benches, and a request for an opinion on the disputed case was sent to the Venice Commission. In order to avoid situations similar to the Đuranović case, the Venice Commission recommended considering several proposals, such as adopting a clear legal framework regulating the retirement age of judges of the Constitutional Court, introducing a simplified automatic mechanism for informing about the fulfillment of the conditions for the retirement age of judges of the Constitutional Court, and considering expanding the provisions on the exemption of judges of the Constitutional Court in cases of conflict of interest.
Concerns about the lack of authority of the state government
DPS states that it is particularly concerned about the lack of authority of the state government and its institutions to enforce laws throughout the state territory and adequately respond to specific illegal actions of nationalists and historical revisionists, "but law and justice today in certain parts of the territory of Montenegro are defined by church figures of the Serbian Orthodox Church, clearly making it known to the entire Montenegrin public that they are able to limit the actions of the police and prosecutor's office."
DPS MPs point out in the non-paper that during their political dominance, Montenegro successfully built good relations with countries in the region, which, after the change of government in 2020, are trying to spoil in order to slow down the country's progress towards the EU.
It is added that Montenegro is currently arguing with Croatia because it is being pushed into this argument by extreme nationalists from the parliamentary majority, who receive instructions from Belgrade.
"The greatest interest in the continuation of tensions between Podgorica and Zagreb lies with the Greater Serbia policy and its creators. Aleksandar Vučić knows that with Montenegro's accession to the EU, he will lose his project of the Serbian world, which is dominantly focused on Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina."
They believe that the only answer to all these threats is a strong push to implement reforms on the path to EU membership more decisively and politically synchronized.
"The Montenegrin opposition will continue to provide support in everything that brings our country closer to the Union, but also to be a barrier to all destructive forces and malignant influences from outside. We recognize that the European Union also has its internal challenges, but we know that for Montenegro, a country in the Western Balkans, there is no alternative or better guarantor of stability and progress."
"In this spirit, we express our readiness to continue working with official Brussels and member states, but we also point out the need for a more detailed in-depth look at the processes in Montenegro and the Western Balkans. For this reason, we emphasize that greater presence, joint engagement and more frequent communication with representatives of pro-European political forces from the opposition and renowned civil society organizations are necessary so that the common goal of Montenegro's membership in the EU by 2028 is truly achievable."
They also warned of tendencies in the region, where the influence of autocratic regimes is growing "which are fueling nationalism and the spirits that led to wars in the recent past."
Significantly neutralized the consequences of Greater Serbian nationalism
The DPS's informal document states that in the previous period, the party's MPs supported all legal acts and decisions of the Government of importance for Montenegro's European agenda.
"Moreover, we often secured key votes so that certain legislative proposals would receive the necessary majority for adoption in parliament. At the same time, the active political engagement of the opposition, primarily the DPS, has to a significant extent neutralized the consequences of the malignant influence of the actors of Greater Serbian nationalism in Montenegro and thus prevented their planned destruction of our European path."
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