May 7, 2018 - The University of Donja Gorica in Podgorica was a host to the 11th Annual Free Market Road Show. This is a type of conference that tours 40 capitals during April and May in Europe and the Caucasus, starting from Slovenia to the Balkans and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea. The organizer of the project is the Austrian Economics Center, in cooperation with over 100 leading think-tanks and universities across Europe and the Caucasus. The show is also held in association with international partners, such as Global Philanthropic Trust, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Americans for Tax Reform, Competitive Enterprise Institute, World Taxpayers Associations, European Students for Liberty, and the F.A. v. Hayek Institute. This was the 10th time that the University of Donja Gorica hosted this event in Podgorica.
These conferences gather many libertarians, free-market thinkers and entrepreneurs all over Europe. In Podgorica, this event had around 200 visitors, of which most of them were students! Also, many University professors attended and participated in the Free Market Road Show in Podgorica, even government officials and guests. The main topic of the conference was “Values, What Values?” while it was split into two parts or two discussion panels. Barbara Kolm, Director of the Austrian Economics Center, and Veselin Vukotic, Rector of the University of Donja Gorica had introductory remarks, while, besides the Montenegrin Minister of Defense, Boskovic, the President of the Public National Radio and Television Council, Ivan Jovetic, took part in the panel.
The first part of the event and the first panel was organized under the topic “NATO Membership as alignment with European Values”, and both Predrag Boskovic and Ivan Jovetic were speakers. The speaker that brought the most attention was the Minister of Defense in Montenegro, Predrag Boskovic, as he spoke about NATO membership as well as various European values. He noted the main challenges while reaching NATO criteriums, especially in the process of improving the system of defense. He also pointed out that joining NATO is one of the greatest moments in recent Montenegrin history. Mister Boskovic also stated the benefits and what should be the next steps for European Union integration.
In the second panel the main topic was “European Values”, and visitors were able to hear opinions from Barbara Kolm, Pieter Cleppe and Nima Sanandaji. Mister Cleppe is the Head of the Brussels Office of Open Europe, while mister Sanandaji is a writer and book publisher. The conference in Podgorica gathered around 200 visitors of whom some were able to discuss various topics in details with the speakers.
