For Montenegro, 2026 is the year in which it is expected to close all negotiation chapters with the European Union, which almost all political entities highlight as a key priority. However, some pro-Serbian parties in the parliamentary majority are calling for the launch of a national dialogue on the issue of the constitutional status of the Serbian language and dual citizenship.
The DNP says that the initiative to equalize the constitutional status of the Serbian and Montenegrin languages is not directed against anyone, but is a reflection of what the 2023 Census showed - that 43 percent of citizens speak Serbian.
"So, here, no identity issues are being sought or raised, nor is there any desire to establish any new political concept of the state, the aim is simply to bring every citizen of Montenegro to equality in accordance with the specific situation on the ground, or the facts that are shown from census to census. There is no country in the world where the language spoken by the largest number of citizens is not also the official language, and that is simply a fact," explained Dragan Bojović from the DNP.
A national dialogue on the language issue is a legitimate initiative, say the PES, but they add that it also requires national unity, especially in the year when Montenegro is set to close negotiations on EU membership.
"Such initiatives should not be blocked from the level of discourse. But if someone cannot ensure national unity on this issue in a year when we are resolving other matters, I believe that this is the fault of the one who initiated it, that he has the greatest responsibility to ensure that unity. I repeat, it is the responsibility of the initiator to ensure that national unity and a peaceful atmosphere in which these negotiations will take place," believes PES MP Vasilije Čarapić.
A two-thirds majority in parliament is required to change any article of the Constitution. In order to change the state symbols and the official language, in addition to two-thirds support in parliament, it is necessary to organize a referendum in which the changes should be supported by three-fifths of those registered on the electoral roll, which is about 325.000 citizens. In the last census, slightly less than 270.000 declared that they speak Serbian.
The opposition believes that these conditions are an insurmountable obstacle to the DNP initiative, and that it is merely an attempt by the Serbian authorities to obstruct the completion of its EU membership negotiations through their representatives in Montenegro.
"I'm not inclined to conspiracy theories, but when I hear such frequent messages about every little bit of progress regarding European integration and official Belgrade, I can hardly help but conclude that we have some interference that could potentially disrupt that story," said DPS MP Mihailo Andjušić.
Although they are calling for the constitutional equalization of the Serbian and Montenegrin languages, the DNP believes that the initiative for constitutional changes should come from the government, in the first quarter of this year. They are asking their colleagues in the government to move from verbal readiness to concrete actions and thus contribute to stopping, as they said, further discrimination against the linguistic majority.
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