Vujović and Mugoša to EU parliamentarians: We want quick entry into the EU, but also essential reforms

Montenegro's goal must be to join the EU as soon as possible, but as a state that fundamentally implements reforms and permanently ensures the civic character of society, said European Union officials Ivan Vujović and Boris Mugoša during a meeting with a delegation of the European Parliament, which consisted of MPs Kathleen Van Brempt, Vice-President for Enlargement of the Socialists and Democrats Group, Matjaž Nemec and Marta Temido, the European Union announced.

As they said, Vujović and Mugoša thanked the EU parliamentarians and the entire Group of Socialists and Democrats, as the second strongest in the European Parliament, for the support they provide to Montenegro on its European path, expressing their belief that it will be even more intense in the final stages of our country's EU integration.

"It is essential to understand that EU integration is not the exclusive property of any government, but a process that belongs to the entire society, and therefore all its elements must be fully included in its implementation, Vujović and Mugoša stated in a conversation with MEPs," the statement said.

The European Union emphasizes that, on this occasion, they expressed concern about the fact that the current government clearly does not have such an experience of the EU process, which results in a lack of inclusiveness, transparency and respect for the views and opinions of the opposition, the civil sector, the media and academic community, and other segments of civil society.

"Such a wrong approach often leads to stagnation, a collapse of political trust and political crises, which unnecessarily wastes time for Montenegro to complete the negotiation process as soon as possible, in ever more favorable geopolitical circumstances and a strong momentum for enlargement policy within the Union itself," it was announced.

Vujović and Mugoša told the European parliamentarians that at this moment, "unfortunately, we have a political crisis that has been caused once again in a series of undemocratic operations by the current government, by adopting anti-European laws on internal affairs and the National Security Agency."

They said that the government, despite strong warnings from the opposition and the clearly negative attitude towards these laws from the entire democratic public, decided to adopt these laws, thereby creating a political crisis, for the sake of establishing full party control over the security sector.

"The European Union, together with other opposition parties, in a bid to find a solution to the crisis in a crucial year for the EU path, has offered a Platform that envisages mechanisms to establish the necessary political stability and ensure the transparency and inclusiveness of the process, as well as the full functionality of institutions, which, thanks to the behavior of the current government, have been operating in a truncated composition for years," they announced.

The opposition, therefore, offered a dialogue on European topics in order to treat this issue in a comprehensive manner and establish the necessary European consensus, such as many countries had in the final phase of their EU path, which for now, unfortunately, is being ignored or tendentious interpretations by the authorities, stated Vujović and Mugoša.

"Strongly believing that dialogue and full inclusion of all productive segments of society in the EU process, which is advocated by the European Union, and not exclusivism and political-party abuse of integration, which is unfortunately the practice of the current government, is the only way for rapid and quality progress on the path to the EU, Vujović and Mugoša once again thanked their partners from the European Parliament for their full understanding and support for Montenegro," the statement concluded.