If Montenegro wants to become a member of the European Union (EU) by 2028, it is necessary to establish without delay an operational, staff-strong and methodologically organized system of professional editing of the EU acquis.
This is stated in the Information on the need to appoint expert editors for the preparation of the national version of the acquis communautaire, adopted at a telephone session of the Government on Sunday, February 15th.
Harmonization with the policies and legal system of the European Union (EU), as the document states, requires comprehensive preparation of the state's capacity to implement those policies, especially in the final phase of the negotiation process for EU membership.
In this context, it is emphasized that Montenegro must have adequately developed administrative, normative and legal-linguistic capacities so that public institutions can effectively and timely implement all obligations arising from the EU acquis.
"One of the key prerequisites for EU membership is the preparation of a comprehensive, terminologically uniform and legally revised national version of the EU's primary and secondary legislation. This obligation is not a technical issue, but an essential condition for accession to the Union. On the day of accession, the entire EU acquis becomes directly applicable and binding in the legal order of the member state. Without a previously prepared, professionally revised and verified language version of the acquis, it is not possible to ensure legal certainty, uniform application of law and equal participation in the work of the EU institutions," the document published by the Government states.
Montenegro, it is noted, is currently behind schedule in preparing a national version of the acquis.
"Since the beginning of the negotiations, no legal act of the EU acquis has been fully professionally revised and systematically prepared in accordance with the standards applied in the Member States. Given the volume of approximately 250.000 pages of primary and secondary EU legislation that needs to be prepared, it is clear that this is an extremely demanding and long-term process that requires urgent and systemic action."
If the strategic goal is Montenegro's membership in the EU by 2028, the pace of work must be significantly accelerated, and the organization of the process clearly standardized, the document emphasizes.
"Therefore, it is necessary to provide a sufficient number of highly qualified personnel who will be systematically included in the process of professional editing of the EU acquis, both for primary and secondary legislation," they say.
Taking into account the scope and complexity of the EU acquis, as stated in the document, the Ministry of European Affairs will, in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Government and the Secretariat for Legislation, propose to the Government the formation of a team/commission for the expert editing of the EU acquis.
"The work of this team will be focused on preparing revised, legally precise and terminologically uniform versions of primary and secondary EU legislation, with clearly defined tasks and deadlines, in order to ensure their quality before the completion of the negotiation process and EU accession. Line ministries, state agencies and other competent authorities play a key role in this process, as they are responsible for professional editing of translations in the areas within their competence. This ensures the accuracy of the legal meaning of the norms, consistent use of terminology and compliance with the domestic legal system. Professional editing of the EU acquis is the task and responsibility of the entire state administration and must be organized as a systemic and continuous process, with clearly defined competencies and responsibilities," the Government added.
Each institution, they say, should take responsibility for its part of the work, including appointing expert drafters for: primary EU legislation and secondary EU legislation, in accordance with the areas and subareas of the EU acquis.
"Expert editors should be persons with thorough knowledge of the legislative process, experience in the field of European law, functional knowledge of the English language, knowledge of legal terminology and EU standards, as well as experience in drafting and harmonizing domestic regulations. For the purposes of expert editing, it is necessary to determine the maximum number of available experts from all relevant institutions (at least 200), in accordance with the list of areas and subareas of the EU acquis," it adds.
The preparation of a comprehensive and legally harmonized national version of the EU acquis, it is emphasized, represents one of the essential prerequisites for Montenegro's accession to the European Union.
They note that membership is not legally possible without a completed and professionally revised language version of the acquis.
"On the day of accession, all EU legislation becomes binding and directly applicable in the legal system of Montenegro. The state must be ready to ensure legal certainty, uniform interpretation and proper application of European norms from the first day of membership. Bearing in mind that no systematic and complete redaction of any act of the EU acquis has been carried out so far, and that the volume of material amounts to around 250.000 pages, the urgency of organizing and implementing this process is extremely high," the document states.
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