The Declaration on Montenegro's progress towards the EU and recommendations for the future were adopted.
Albanian Forum (AF) MP Nikola Camaj said that the minorities unreservedly supported the former government because of the European agenda.
"Everything that has been achieved on that path is also due to the minorities - both independence and membership in NATO. Montenegro was the luckiest of all the countries of the former Yugoslavia to have loyal minorities. However, the minorities could not influence what stopped the European path , namely corruption and organized crime. Precisely because of the promised fight against organized corruption and crime, but also the fact that the agreement foresees concrete steps to continue the implementation of the Euro-agenda, that affected minorities to be part of this ruling majority," he pointed out. .
He repeated yesterday's words of Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol that Montenegro must not become Belarus, but that EU support is needed for that.
"At the moment we have the support of over 80 percent and we must not allow Eurosceptics to dilute it. And there are Eurosceptics within Europe as well, but there are also those who left, so it's their fault," pointed out Camaj.
Social Democrats (SD) MP Boris Mugoša said that we must focus on strengthening competition, but also on strengthening public administration.
He added that he hopes that, at least in the economy, there will be less populism.
Member of Parliament of Democratic Montenegro Anđela Vojinović assessed that being the Minister of Ecology is not an easy task, because it is necessary to raise the awareness of citizens, but also of the political elite who "always do not pay enough attention to environmental protection".
"The report for the year 2023 said that progress in Chapter 27 is on pause, and this year we have progress," she said, responding to the URA GP's statements.
Dejan Đurović, deputy of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD), told co-chairs that he was in Brussels as the chairman of the Committee for Tourism, Agriculture, Ecology and Spatial Planning, and that the law on waste management was presented for the first time.
"For a long period, Elektroprivreda did not face the problem of the Pljevlja Coal Mine. Although, that mine of ours is a problem, but do not make it a problem for the whole of Europe, but after the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's aggression against Ukraine, a hundred thermal power plants were opened in Germany. Also , Norway has opened more oil fields," the co-chairman announced.
The other co-chairman, Tomas Vajc, disputed these allegations.
Member of Parliament of the Civic Movement (GP) URA Ana Novaković Đurović assessed that it is very good that the report of the European Commission (EC) includes a review of the program "Europe Now 2" in which it is stated that "those measures represent a risk to the stability of public finances". .
"The increase did not come about with the help of structural measures, but administrative measures that created a deficit in the pension fund that will be tried to be compensated by increasing VAT and excise taxes," she announced.
She also referred to the green agenda, for which she said that this government only introduced the Law on Waste Management, which was prepared by the previous one.
"Our reliance on the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant and coal is a problem, and the dominant obligation of the state is to complete the climate plan and set targets for the transition to clean energy. This transition is a complex process and requires a strategic approach. We did not receive a vision from this government," she said. .
Member of the European Parliament (EP), Arash Seidi, said that prosperity must be at the service of everyone.
"I was not born in one of the founding countries of the European Union (EU), but I am a citizen of one of them. I think it is very important to take care of two things - the quality of public service, but also social rights. Very often, great attention is paid to large companies and their needs, but keep in mind that the accession process is based on the will of all citizens," Seidi pointed out.
Seid Hadžić, Member of Parliament of the Europe Now Movement (PES), said that the European path for citizens has no alternative.
"Just today, I feel particularly proud of the fact that on November 1, 2024, we fulfilled what we promised to the citizens that would be achieved in the first year of the Government, which is a salary increase. I believe that it is not accidental, and it is also an excellent symbolism, that on this day, we share this great thing with you, the European parliamentarians. Key measures include an increase in the minimum wage to 600 euros for employees up to the fifth degree, or 800 euros for employees with the sixth and higher degrees," Hadžić announced.
As he added, the "Europe Now 2" program has a positive effect on citizens, but also on tax collection and the stability of public finances.
Yesterday, the 22nd meeting of the Parliamentary Committee of the European Union and Montenegro for Stabilization and Association (POSP) was held in the Parliament of Montenegro.
Bonus video: