Corruption generates nationalism, not only in Montenegro, but also in the entire region, said Prime Minister in technical mandate Dritan Abazović. at the 15th Regional Euro-Atlantic Camp - REACT.
Abazović, at an event organized by the ALFA Center that began yesterday in Žabljak, said that he intends to deal with the topic from a scientific perspective when he leaves politics.
It is good, as he said, that more and more forces are appearing that destroy that concept, although there are still a large number of those who, as he said, push the country into conflicts with incorrect and irrational things.
Abazović, as reported by ALFA Center, said that Montenegro is ready to close a large number of chapters related to accession to the European Union, but that due to technical obstacles, this has not yet been achieved. One of those obstacles is the Judicial Council, which has not yet been formed due to "political games" because "it suits someone to credit themselves with success" for its formation, he added.
He is convinced that Montenegro will continue to maintain its leadership position and that it will not take long to find itself at the door of the EU.
"I believe that Montenegro has a system that can transform quickly, but not in these political conditions. Unfortunately, here, I mean both Montenegro and the region, we are burdened by politics, because our focus is on the wrong side and we are constantly looking for someone else to blame. We have all the conditions to have a high standard of living, if only we cross paths with those policies where we make every thing a D-day," said Abazović.
For this reason, he believes, we should eliminate all difficult topics and not allow them to return us to the past. He believes that regional initiatives, such as the Berlin Process and the Open Balkans, are good and that they are not a substitute for the European Union, which "after all, advocates regional cooperation all the time".
However, the limiting factor in this cooperation is the trust that the region lacks, because we constantly think that "something is lurking behind the hill", even when it comes to positive ideas, Abazović added, as stated in the announcement. For that to happen, according to him, greater mobility of people, openness of borders and acceptance of the fact that the goal of every policy is to create better living conditions for citizens is needed.
"When political relations are at a high level, then as a result we have economic progress," said Abazović.
Answering the question about party employment, he said that it is represented in Montenegro to a significantly lesser extent than before, and that, unfortunately, it will not be eliminated.
When asked when Svetozar Marović will be extradited to Montenegro, he stated that it does not depend on Montenegro, that they can lobby for it to happen as soon as possible and that, if there is a good and rational policy on both sides, it will happen. . As he said, whoever offends against the law in Montenegro "mostly flees to Serbia", and that is what "the biggest opponents of Serbia's politics" do.
"Whoever I accused is already in the process or will be," said Abazović.
At the event, as announced, there were also questions related to the formation of the new Government. Abazović said that in two years many things have crystallized and that the situation is not identical to the one after August 30, 2020, that Montenegro has complied with all obligations, that there is nothing against a new agreement, and that the local elections will be a good indicator and perhaps a stimulus. to go to the parliamentary elections, or to look for some other option.
"The country is going through the mud and has to emerge from this," said the Prime Minister.
"Impressive results achieved in 15 years"
Opening the 15th REACT, the executive director of ALFA Center, Miloš Perović, said that the fact that they had more than 200 registered participants this year is the best indication that they are doing a good job.
"The ALFA Center is an organization that, since 2006, has continuously and very dedicatedly contributed to strengthening citizens' trust in the justification of Montenegro's membership in NATO and the European Union. REACT reflects and promotes the values and principles on which we develop modern Montenegro in the best way. And when I say that, I mean the efforts aimed at the modernization of Montenegrin society through the adoption of European standards, with the ambition of bringing Montenegro into the European Union in the near future, after joining NATO," said Perović.
He reminded that REACT has been organized since 2008, contributing to the education of young people from a large number of countries in Europe and the region on the topics of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, regional cooperation, defense, diplomacy, reconciliation and stability in the region.
"The concept of REACT represents a real example of networking of young people and the way in which common challenges are solved more successfully and quickly if there is mutual cooperation. During these fifteen years of work, REACT has been and remains a place where discussions can be freely opened and conducted," Perović pointed out and added that from the first day, a large number of lecturers from different social spheres participated in the work of the camp, and that it will be the same this year as well. years.
As in the previous two years, as part of this year's REACT, the "Aleksandar Šime Dedović" award for contribution to the development of Euro-Atlantic thought will be awarded in the form of a one-time scholarship for the most outstanding participant, as, as the executive director of ALFA Center said, "a tribute to a man whose energy , charisma and enthusiasm is what started the story of REACT".
Perović thanked the Municipality of Žabljak, with which they have "exceptional cooperation", which, as announced, is demonstrated by the organization of the third REACT camp in that municipality.
The President of the Municipality of Žabljak Veselin Vukićević said that the ALFA Center and REACT made an exceptional contribution to informing and educating citizens about the concept and advantages of Montenegro's accession to the NATO alliance.
"In this way, they significantly influenced the support for Montenegro's membership in NATO to be at an extremely high level and constantly increasing... REACT camps organized by ALFA Center in the past 15 years can boast of impressive results, names of lecturers and numbers of participants from Montenegro, the region and from all the world's meridians", said Vukićević, as reported by the ALFA Center.
He pointed out that after five years of Montenegro's accession to the NATO alliance, the benefits of membership can be felt, such as an increase in investments in tourism, direct benefits for businessmen, training of the army, education of cadets, assistance in emergency situations...
"We are witnessing how much such support is necessary for us these days with the attack in the field of high-tech crime, which aimed at the highest degree of endangering the vital functions of our country," said the President of the Municipality of Žabljak.
Kovac: The state sends a clear signal that crime does not pay
The first lecture was held by the Minister of Justice, Marko Kovač, who, speaking about the Law on the Origin of Property, said that its importance goes beyond the formal-legal domain, because in addition to strengthening the legislative framework, the state "sends a clear signal that crime does not pay".
"The novelty is that with the proposed amendments, the protector of property and legal interests appears for the first time, and the financial report is also introduced," said Kovač.
The Minister explained that the proposed changes will "under attack" all the persons to whom the property was transferred, that it will also be applicable to criminal acts for which the property was acquired, which occurred ten years ago, provided that they are not statute-barred. Explaining the proposed changes and additions, the minister pointed out that they will speed up the raising of summonses and that in the past period, 14 decisions were made on the permanent confiscation of property resulting from a criminal act. The proposed amendments, according to Kovač, will not solve "all our problems", but in conjunction with other legal solutions, they will make progress.
He believes that the Government's changes will not affect the adoption of the proposed amendments, because he does not believe that any Government can have anything against it, so he expects the highest level of agreement or consensus during the voting. Their failure to adopt would send a bad message to investors, the minister believes, because they all expect legal stability, not procedures that last for years.
The text with proposed amendments was sent to the European Commission ten days ago, they expect an answer by the end of September or the beginning of October, so it could be in the parliamentary procedure at the end of October.
"The importance of negotiation processes for stability in the region was discussed by panelists Oliver Andonov, former Minister of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia and associate professor at the Military Academy, as well as Astrit Istrefi, on behalf of the Balkan Forum from Kosovo, with the active participation of young people who wanted to ask constructive questions to find out more about the mentioned topic," they say from the ALFA Center.
50 young people from the countries of the region are participating in this year's REACT, and during four days, they will have the opportunity to hear lectures from 17 lecturers and panelists.
Milošević: The fight against crime needs a government with a stable plan
The final lecture on the first day of REACT was held by the director of the Revenue and Customs Administration, Rada Milošević.
"Milošević said that cigarette smuggling is a difficult criminal offense to prove for the simple reason that a large number of people are involved in it and that each of them receives from five to ten thousand euros per truck, and so far 150 have been seized, that if someone it is mostly the driver who gets hurt and that he was guided by the logic that even though no one was arrested, he hit the criminal groups in the pocket, because each seized container is 200 thousand euros lost for that group," the statement added.
As he said, political turbulence is always good for crime, and the fight against crime needs a government with a stable plan.
Answering the question about the good and bad sides of the Open Balkans, Milošević said that from a rational point of view it is good for Montenegro, but that one must be careful and find a model of how to protect the country and prevent smuggling.
He pointed out the increase in tax collection, the increase in VAT by 25 percent, as well as the possibility of forming a tax police that would deal with tax evasion.
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