Almost a year after obtaining the IBAR, four laws adopted in that process must be amended.
The government claims that these are planned refinements, while the civil sector and the opposition warn of a missed opportunity for real reforms.
Meanwhile, the political blockade is hindering the implementation of media laws, and Montenegro's European path could once again enter an uncertain phase.
Almost a year after Montenegro received a positive IBAR – a report that was supposed to mark a turning point on its European path – four of the 12 adopted "IBAR laws" are already on the table for further development.
These are laws in the areas of anti-corruption, judiciary and human rights.
Civic activist Dina Bajramspahić believes that IBAR did not bring the expected reform.
"Now we are already seeing what we warned about back then, that IBAR was nevertheless presented as an expression of goodwill by the European Union to unblock the process, to give us an incentive, to be a springboard for a much more serious dynamic, as was expected after IBAR, which unfortunately did not happen," said Bajramspahić.
In addition to the Law on the Prevention of Corruption, amendments are also pending to the Criminal Procedure Code, the Law on the Judicial Council and Judges, and the Law on the State Prosecutor's Office.
The opposition says that these changes could have been made earlier, while the parliamentary majority did not want to appear before our cameras on this topic.
"What has been announced are some changes that we asked for last year. So, it is really unclear why there was no response to this last year," said Ana Novaković Đurović, MP from the Civic Movement URA.
The Ministry of European Affairs (MEP) claims that this is a carefully planned reform, and not a reaction to the weaknesses of previous work.
Maida Gorčević's department emphasizes that the IBAR laws were not cosmetic changes or mere form without substance.
"Although the interim criteria for obtaining IBAR fulfilled this summer were under time pressure, they were not 'ad hoc'. The fact that the laws are still being refined is not a weakness, but a confirmation of the two-way process of European integration. The IBAR laws were a reform response to specific EU demands, agreed in direct communication with the European Commission," said the MEPs.
Media laws were also a condition for obtaining IBAR, the implementation of which has been delayed due to the parliamentary majority blocking the process. Criticism has also come from the European Union Delegation, which warns that full and effective implementation of these laws is crucial for meeting the final rule of law benchmarks.
"Therefore, it prevents the election of members of the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services and the Council of Radio and Television of Montenegro, in accordance with the IBAR laws, only because it wants to politically control these institutions. The intention is to change these laws to enable the entry of politically suitable personnel, not professionals," said Novaković Đurović.
"This case is very indicative because it shows the EU that there is a possibility that after we close certain chapters based on reforms to close those chapters, immediately after closing, we move in the opposite direction," said Novaković Đurović.
Thanks to IBAR, Montenegro closed three chapters in December, and 27 more await us.
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