Montenegro's membership in the European Union (EU) is not a goal, but a way for Montenegrin society to start living in accordance with the standards of the most developed community in the world, it was assessed at the digital conference "20 Years of Independence: From May to May", organized by the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT).
Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević said that there are very clear lists of obligations on the European path, because such is the process and methodology.
"For our own sake, we need to be the best we can be in this process. Closing the chapter is the first step, after that there is a lot of work. Sometimes we will hear - you are doing this for Brussels, no, Brussels has shown us what things we need to fulfill in order to become the next EU member, but we have to do it for ourselves," said Gorčević.
She emphasized that reforms cannot come overnight, but that both citizens and the economy will see the benefits only gradually.
"The reforms we are implementing to close the negotiation chapter are, after all, pieces that ultimately fit together into a broader mosaic that will bring us greater benefits tomorrow," said Gorčević.
As she said, it must not be forgotten that Montenegro is already a member of SEPA, that citizens can see that, and that the state already receives EU grants, whether for railway reconstruction, highways, investments in infrastructure, the health system and education.
"We are already seeing certain benefits that perhaps need to be further communicated," added Gorčević.
She stated that she sees a very clear roadmap until the end of the year, but that the biggest challenges are the chapters on the rule of law, environmental protection, and food safety.
"I see that we can manage to close all negotiation chapters by the end of December this year," said Gorčević.
Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) MP Andrija Nikolić said that the commitment of that party and the then state leadership was for the EU to be Montenegro's ultimate destination.
"That orientation helped us achieve majority support in the referendum. The story of Montenegro in the EU has lasted longer than the period since the restoration of independence," said Nikolić.
He added that during the DPS government, the integration process was successful, but that more could have been done.
"There was administrative inefficiency in fulfilling the criteria set at the time by the Montenegrin administration, this influenced, along with geopolitical reasons and significant resistance from the then opposition, the results were still decent because the country opened all chapters, but more could have been done, there is no doubt about it," said Nikolić.
He assessed that more could have been done on the European path.
"However, today in Montenegro we have a constructive opposition that is helping the state administration and the government to push this process forward as quickly and efficiently as possible. And back then we had great resistance to these processes, including the fact that from 2016 to 2020 we were without a significant part of the opposition in parliament," said Nikolić.
According to him, progress could have been better, but a good foundation was left for the future administration to continue and build on what is the European emancipation of Montenegrin society.
CDT Program Director Milica Kovačević said that both the DPS and the current government used EU integration as an asset in electoral processes and political communication because it is something that citizens support.
"If we look back, we are a better society today than we were in 2006," said Kovačević.
As she stated, Montenegro has formed some institutions, improved its international position and is recording growth, but that is not enough for the citizens and those reforms have never been enough.
"Today we have a higher salary, but we pay a lot more in rent bills, there has been little investment in the education or health system for decades, not enough for development, in public administration we have moved away from some papers or stamps, but we have not reached where we thought we should be," said Kovačević.
She emphasized that citizens do not see the praised reforms, because they "cannot possibly reach society."
"Citizens still see today that they live in a system in which party recruitment is constantly taking place at all levels, in which a connection is needed, and you will not explain to them that you have passed a better law on the prevention of corruption, because there is no way we can bring the benefits of that law to the field," said Kovačević.
According to her, it is not fair to say that everything is the same, that everything is bad, that nothing is right and that nothing has changed.
"But I think the only fair and right thing to do is to insist on it persistently - take away the reforms on paper, this is not enough, this can be better," said Kovačević.
When asked whether Croatia would use the EU as an excuse to condition Montenegro due to unresolved issues, Nikolić responded that all responsibility for the relationship with Croatia lies with the current executive branch.
He stated that part of the government managed to get Montenegro into a dispute with Croatia at a time when it was extremely unnecessary, and it concerns the final phase of the integration process.
"Those people who sit in the government and who sincerely do not believe in the idea of Montenegro's European integration did so with the expectation that Croatia would block Montenegro's European path, and then blame Croatia for that blockade," said Nikolić.
Speaking about relations with Croatia, Kovačević said that, beyond the talk of neighborhood, friendship and understanding, Croatia's official foreign policy is Montenegro in the EU.
"Because we are their closest neighbors, they have always publicly promoted it, they have been our allies on this path from the very beginning," added Kovačević.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
