Mandić announced that he will attend the reception marking the 20th anniversary of independence: Happy future for a reconciled Montenegro

Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić announced tonight that he will attend a reception tomorrow marking the 20th anniversary of independence, which will be organized by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić.

He said this at the opening of the exhibition "Europe, we are returning" in the building of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts (CANU).

Mandić said that the exhibition serves to show that Montenegro is returning to Europe, as an old European state, and not coming into it as "some foreign body".

"We recently celebrated Europe Day - May 9, remembering the historic Schuman Declaration... On that day, we also remember that the former totalitarian communist regime, unfortunately, temporarily took away our European future, refusing to be part of the Schuman Plan, dreaming grandiose dreams of a planetary communist revolution," he said, adding that he "has the honor of righting this historical injustice."

Mandić recalled that, as the impressions of the 20th anniversary of the independence referendum are summed up, on May 21, 2006, citizens had the opportunity to choose between two legal and legitimate options.

"In both options, Montenegro was a state... Many politicians easily believe that there is only one truth and that everything needs to be done for that truth... Psychologically strong rhetoric often hides weakness... It is easy to find an enemy, but difficult to find a friend," he underlined.

Mandić said that 20 years ago he was the youngest leader of the Bloc for a Common State, and that there should not have been "winners and losers" in the referendum, but that a group of politicians wanted that division.

"Citizens who voted for a common state in 2006 were undesirable for work in the state administration until 2020... The process was difficult, but especially after 2023, we started working on reconciliation," Mandić pointed out.

The head of parliament said that the process of joining the EU is largely supported by young people, and that he wants entry into that community to benefit all peoples in Montenegro - Serbs, Montenegrins, Bosniaks, Albanians, Croats...

"I proudly point out that today I am the oldest leader of the bloc for the community of the Old Continent - for our European Union. The moment has finally come for us all to say together, 'Europe, we are returning'. Happy future to you, reconciled Montenegro," Mandić said.