And while it is clear that the president of the country appoints ambassadors according to the Constitution, this cannot happen without a government proposal, and there are still rumors on that line.
Montenegro is currently without ambassadors in as many as 27 countries and without consuls general in New York and Frankfurt. We do not have ambassadors in neighboring Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, but not in the most important countries in the world, including the United States of America, Germany, China, Russia, Great Britain, Switzerland, Austria and the United Arab Emirates.
"The government has proposed the appointment of twelve ambassadors, among whom are six career diplomats and six so-called political ones. At this moment, we can confirm that eight proposals for the appointment of ambassadors have been sent to the President of the State for further action. with which the president will sign the decrees on the appointment," said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
And while Filip Ivanović's department assures that the Government approaches this issue with dedication, the cabinet of President Jakov Milatović does not hide their dissatisfaction. They explain that Milatović initiated consultations on this topic in November, but that the first consultations were held with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and the head of diplomacy only three and a half months later.
"Previously, President Milatović expressed his dissatisfaction with the approach to the selection of proposals, both with the procedure itself, i.e. the fact that there were no consultations with potential candidates, and with the emphasis on political positions at the expense of career diplomats, and that in the most important positions," the office of the President of Montenegro states.
Milatović, they claim, has so far received a proposal from the Government for the appointment of seven ambassadors, of which, according to his office, as many as four are political appointments and three are career appointments, although by law political appointments can go up to 30 percent of the total number. It is also worrisome that, as they state, the Government has not yet proposed a candidate for NATO, nor for a permanent representative at the United Nations in New York, although agreements are not required for these appointments, so the process would take much less time.
"We also note that during the consultation there were controversial candidates for which the President did not give his consent. We believe that the process of appointing ambassadors is proceeding too slowly, and that it is overloaded with the calculation of political appointments that have been prioritized, instead of filling priority positions in the diplomatic network," they added. from Milatović's cabinet.
Whether we are really sending the best into the world or whether the appointment of the ambassador will be a measure of political compromise, we will know when the president and the government finally reach an agreement.
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