Voice of the MP of the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Maje Vukićević against Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe is insignificant for Kosovo's European path, but it shows the "disintegration" in the ruling coalition in Montenegro.
This was assessed by members of the Albanian Forum and the URA Citizens' Movement Nikola Camaji Miloš Konatar commenting for "Vijesti" on Vukićević's announcement that he will vote against Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe (CoE).
Vukićević is the head of the Montenegrin delegation in the SE Parliamentary Assembly (PSSE), which consists of three members, two from the government and one from the opposition, and three deputies. In addition to Vukićević, the members are Vasilije Carapić (PES) and Boris Mugoša (SD), while the deputies are Nikola Camaj, Nadja Laković (PES) and Milos Konatar. Representatives take part in the voting, and in case of their inability, deputies vote.
The Main Board of the DNP, the party Milan Knežević, on Sunday Vukićević gave his support to vote against the admission of Pristina to SE.
The Political Committee of PSSE, where Montenegro is represented by Vukićević, will today consider the Statutory Opinion on the application for membership of Kosovo and adopt the preliminary draft of the opinion and send it to the Parliamentary Assembly. The committee has 85 members.
That point is on the agenda of the PSSE session on April 18. Report for the admission of Kosovo to the SE Dora Bakojanis she recommended that Kosovo become a member of the Council of Europe.
"After the PSSE votes and adopts the statutory opinion, it is forwarded to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which makes the final decision on the application for membership. As the procedure is ongoing, no date has been set for a possible final decision", they told "Vijesti" from SE.
Čarapić and Mugoša did not answer the questions of "Vijesti" about their position on Vukićević's decision and how they will vote at the plenary session. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also did not answer the questions of "Vijesti" about their position regarding Vukićević's announcement.
Yesterday, Maja Vukićević confirmed to "Vijesta" that she will vote against the admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe and added that she did not consult with the constituents of the government in this regard, because they did not consult with her party when making some decisions.
"I believe that the deputy has the right to vote according to his conviction and based on his convictions and what the facts are. The DNP complied with everything related to the agreement and with our vote we contributed to finally unblocking the negotiations with the EU", she said.
Camaj points out that the political activity of each deputy is independent and does not represent Montenegro, or at least not the majority opinion.
"That's precisely why I don't perceive this act as disrespecting the coalition agreement, although I don't think it's at the level of any correctness, for the reason that I think we strive for the same values, which includes good neighborly cooperation. By the way, we all have red lines on certain issues, but it is to be expected that we will freeze them, at least temporarily, due to the common course towards the EU", said Camaj, answering the question whether this is a violation of the coalition agreement.
He points out that he supports Kosovo's membership at the PSSE plenary session.
The coalition agreement states that one of the basic principles of the new government is the alignment of Montenegro's foreign and security policy with EU policy and the strengthening of partnership with NATO and "further development of friendly cooperation with all neighboring countries recognized by Montenegro". Compliance with the agreement is a condition for DNP's entry into the reconstructed Government, which, according to the agreement, should happen by the end of the year at the latest.
Miloš Konatar says that the agreement of the parliamentary majority has been violated so many times that even the signatories no longer believe in it.
He believes that the parliamentary majority looks like a "timed orchestra" in which everyone conducts their own politics, and the announced vote on Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe is the best confirmation that they truly operate under the leadership of the prime minister. Milojko Spajić.
"The government announces that it will respect international obligations and continue Montenegro's pro-European foreign policy course, and then from the parliamentary majority they work against it and all this together looks like a mess in which it is clear that Milojko Spajić has lost his authority and that foreign policy is led by Andrija Mandić" Konatar said.
He points out that the URA GP has always been committed to the European path of Montenegro, partnership in NATO and good neighborly relations and "it will be the same when voting for Kosovo's membership in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe".
Vukićević says that she was surprised by the reactions of the opposition, which is "obviously used to unanimity".
"In Montenegro, we have to normalize the fact that we have different views, and my view is that they can be discussed in a civilized manner. I must also point out that at the beginning of the month we had a meeting of the political committee in which Dora Bakojanis presented her report on Kosovo, which was extremely negative, especially in the part of the rule of law and the general state of human rights, above all of the Serbs in Kosovo, so it is simply surprising that this process is being rushed, because it was certainly not possible to fix everything that happened in 20 days was stated as problematic in the report," said Vukićević.
It is clear, as he says, that these are attempts to "roughly violate international law once again with a political decision".
"I certainly will not support that. "For the sake of publicity and correct attitude towards my colleagues, I would like to point out that at the session of the Parliamentary Assembly itself, apart from me, two other members of the delegation will have the right to vote, who will of course vote according to their free will," she pointed out.
Vukićević: For the first time, SE is considering the entry of a disputed country
She said that she sees Kosovo's application for membership in the CE as problematic for several reasons, the first of which is "that it is a territory that is still disputed", because it is not recognized by more than half of the member states of the United Nations, and also by several EU countries. such as Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia.
"In addition, the heads of delegations of several countries that have recognized Kosovo have announced that they will not vote for membership in the Council of Europe, but only in Montenegro, for some reason, noise is being raised because of the announcement that I will vote against it. This is the first time in its more than 70-year long history that the Council of Europe is considering the entry of a country that is disputed and that can cause disagreements in the Council itself, as shown by the preliminary vote at the committee of ministers, where Kosovo won a two-thirds majority by only two votes. she stated.
He believes that Kosovo's admission to the CE would significantly disrupt the course of negotiations and attempts to resolve this issue through diplomatic means, and if membership were to occur, it would significantly complicate Serbia's position.
"Kosovo's entry into the CE contradicts UN Resolution 1244, which guarantees sovereignty and territorial integrity to Serbia, which is why Kosovo is not part of the United Nations because the Act of Independence was declared unilaterally. If Kosovo becomes part of the SE, it can be a serious precedent and in the future we can expect applications of various disputed territories to international organizations," said Vukićević.
He says that the territorial integrity of every country must be protected in the same way - you cannot support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and dispute Serbia's part of its territory.
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