December 5, 2019 - Montenegro is in a place where it can contribute to peace and stability, said the president of Montenegro’s Government, Mr Duško Marković, who is attending NATO Summit in London. 

Prime Minister said that meeting leaders of ally countries were a great opportunity for Montenegro to confirm its NATO membership, which is crucial to our security.

Summit in London is organized to mark NATO’s 70^th anniversary.

Mr Marković says that the Summit is a confirmation of the power of union and solidarity of its members.

“Decisions made at the Summit today encourage and improve NATO policies and its ability to counter threats. NATO’s commitment when it comes to Western Balkans is clear. The attendance of North Macedonia proves it”, says Prime Minister.

Mr Marković says this was a great opportunity for Montenegro to reiterate that it supports NATO and cherishes its values.

“NATO is important for the security of the region and our country. Cooperation between Montenegro and NATO is very comprehensive. This was a very successful Summit that conveyed messages of unity, power and solidarity”, pointed out Mr Marković.

President of the Government confirmed that messages conveyed by the French president, Mr Emmanuel Macron, were also discussed at the Summit.

“We should work on strengthening NATO. Mr Macron himself agreed”, said Mr Mrković.

A CHANCE AND A CHALLENGE

China’s progress was also one of the topics discussed at the Summit.

“China is a chance and a challenge for Montenegro and the Alliance as a whole. We should do our best to understand China as much as we can”, says PM.

VALUES OF THE DEVELOPED WORLD

Mr Marković said that Montenegro’s interest was not only to become part of some alliance, but its main interest was to develop and improve living standards.

“NATO Member States create conditions for a better life. After Montenegro became NATO member, it got a chance to develop its economy in a sustainable way and that’s why our economy has been recording enormous growth”, says Mr Marković.

NORTH MACEDONIA TO BECOME NATO MEMBER NEXT YEAR

Prime Minister said that the fact that North Macedonia “will become NATO member next year” was very encouraging.

“That’s important for the entire Western Balkans”, says Mr Marković.

€35 MILLION FOR MILITARY EQUIPMENT

Asked is Montenegro was really negotiating with Israel reading the purchase of armament, Mr Marković says that one of its duties is to earmark a specific amount for the defense.

“There’s no hidden agenda. By 2024, we want to reach a 2% level of funds intended for defense. We’ve already provided part. We’ve earmarked €35 million for the provision of equipment next year”, says Mr Marković.

Montenegrin soldiers will be part of the military mission in Iraq.

At the beginning of the Summit, Mr Marković met with the President of the Government of Canada, Mr Justin Trudeau and President of Latvia, Mr Egils Levits.

During the meeting with Mr Trudeau, the emphasis was put on great bilateral relations with Canada, and high-quality cooperation within NATO.

Meeting with the Latvian president was dedicated to Latvia’s support for the European integration of Montenegro and WB countries.

Mr Levits said that they appreciated Montenegro’s contribution to the goals of the Alliance.

Text by CDM on December 4, 2019, read more here. 

To read more about politics in Montenegro, follow TMN's dedicated page. 

December 1, 2019 - Delegates of the eighth DPS Congress held today in Podgorica re-elected Mr Milo Đukanović as the party leader, while Mr Duško Marković was re-elected as a deputy leader of the party. There were 598 delegates who took part in the work of the Congress, and after all the votes were counted, it was noted that two votes concerning Mr Đukanović were invalid, and as for Mr Marković, two were invalid and two against his election for the function of the party’s vice-president.

“We have fulfilled all the promises made at the previous congress. We have managed to preserve Montenegro’s stability, to join NATO and move towards the EU, which are important steps in the area of economic and democratic development,” President Đukanović said after his re-election.

According to him, the DPS is steadily moving towards the Europeanization and emancipation of the Montenegrin society, and it creates conditions for a quality life of citizens.

“Over the last four years, the DPS has more or less won all the electoral victories. The party is in power in 17 municipalities. There is no room for being relaxed. We have a long-term mission. There are challenges regarding further economic development because in that way it’s possible to solve numerous social problems,” he was adamant.

Mr Đukanović and Mr Marković were the only candidates running for these posts.

In addition, the Congress elected the Main Committee comprising 146 members, the Statutory Commission, the Supervisory Board and adopted the party’s Political Program.

Text by CDM on November 30, 2019, read more here. 

To read more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

November 9, 2019 - EU accession isn’ Montenegro’s only interest. We want to be fully ready for the membership and meet all the criteria, especially in the rule of law, as it is the foundation of the European quality of life. That’s our top priority, said vice-president of the Government, Mr Zoran Pazin, during the meeting convened as part of the ongoing Strategic Dialogue on the Western Balkans with the officials of the Western Balkans, EU member states and European institutions, organized by the World Economic Forum in Geneva.

Mr Pazin pointed out that the essence of the European policy in Montenegro was reaching the higher living standard and developing society which would function by rules applied in the most developed European democracies. He added that the total transformation of the society was achievable but only through the unhindered process.

“Never in its long history has Montenegro managed to get hold of something easily. Therefore, we don’t expect that to happen now. On the contrary, we are working hard on developing a society where European rules and standards will apply. However, we expect our European partners to recognize our real progress”, said Mr Pazin.

While talking about the reserved view on the EU enlargement policy, Mr Pazin said that considering some more efficient way of functioning within the Union was completely legitimate. He said that the integration process should continue as it “is in the interest of both the EU and WB”. Any other scenario would leave room for the increase of anti-European and populist forces.

The idea of the so-called reversibility principle is not a sustainable solution, states Mr Pazin, considering the already established principles of international law.

Mr Pažin emphasized Germany’s important role in the promotion of European values. He expressed gratitude for the support members of Višegrad group pledged for Montenegro. In that context, Mr Pazin stressed that so far the German principle of Euro-integration had produced concrete results and that such relations between the EU and other countries aspiring to be part of it should continue.

Mr Pazin reminded that one of Montenegro’s top priorities was strengthening relations with neighbors. He said that the “mini Schengen” initiative would lead to high-quality EU integration.

Mr Pazin said that it was very important that every country in the EU accession process should be enabled to make progress in accordance with reform results and other successes.

Text by CDM on November 8, 2019, read more here.

To read more about politics in Montenegro, follow TMN's dedicated page.

November 8, 2019 - French president, Mr Emmanuel Macron, raised eyebrows with his statement that NATO “is experiencing brain death“ and that Europe “stands on the edge of the precipice”. German Chancellor, Ms Angela Merkel, was surprised as well and said he had used drastic words and she rejected his assessment. Commenting on Macron’s statement, president of the European Movement in Montenegro, Mr Momčilio Radulovic, says that Macron’s interview for The Economist cannot be seen from Montenegro’s point of view, and not even from the point of view of the enlargement policy.

Mr Radulovic explains that his interview is a very complex analysis of so far global policies, economic and security policies to development policies and another set of policies related to contemporary international relations.

“This text is so far away from something that should be regarded as short-term. We shouldn’t draw hasty conclusions about Macron’s definitions”, says Mr Radulovic.

Answering the question about Macron’s views, Mr Radulovic says that his views are often controversial, but also inspirational and make you think carefully about the modern world, the future of Europe and international relations.

“However, his messages are often contradictory, or, at least, strange and distorted in some way, although his conclusions are based on accurate premises. Are his dislocated conclusions fruit of his intention or wrong assessment? We’ll see. He was also contradictory when he referred to Balkan countries and enlargement policy”, says Mr Radulovic.

Mr Radulovic adds that the question is why enlargement policy has to be regarded separately from the general parallelism principle.

“If we analyze other parts of his interview and a whole set of remarks he made regarding the enlargement policy, we tend to get the impression that Mr Macron used question-related to WB integration to address a whole set of other questions which are nor relevant to our country and our citizens”, says Mr Radulovic.

That double-standard policy does not encourage us or other countries in the region and their leaders.

What is more important is what effects such profound Macron’s statements produce. Will they contribute to the further consolidation of the EU or further divisions?

Asked to comment on Ms Merkel’s reaction to Mr Macron’s statements, Mr Radulovic says that the French leader was expected to show a greater level of political wisdom.

As far as Montenegro is concerned, Mr Radulovic says it is important to read what Mr Macron’s does and thinks and even assist him in his attempts to address specific problems. However, it is far more useful for us to identify with the messages conveyed by Mr Mike Pompeo and Mr Heiko Mass.

Text by CDM on November 8, 2019, read more here.

To read more about politics in Montenegro, follow TMN's dedicated page.

28 October 2019 - Minister of Culture of Montenegro Aleksandar Bogdanović recently met earlier with Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Republic Abulfas Garayev in Baku.

The meeting discussed possibilities of strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the field of culture, since the bilateral relations between Montenegro and Azerbaijan are friendly and content.

In this regard, the two officials expressed their satisfaction with the fact that the cooperation between cultural institutions are intensified. This, as it was highlighted, primarily refers to the joint work of the National Library of Montenegro "Đurđe Crnojević" and Azerbaijan National Library within the Conference of European National Librarians and Montenegro’s Cinematography and the Azerbaijan Davlat Film Fund.

Both sides particularly emphasised the significance of the work of the Cultural and Economic Centre of Azerbaijan in Podgorica, stressing that there is a mutual interest in organising diverse programs in the field of culture in the future.

Minister Bogdanović stated that so far, cooperation is a good basis for the coming period and invited Minister Garayev to visit Montenegro and on that occasion, as he added, to sign the Programme on Cooperation between Ministries of Culture of the two countries.

Minister Garayev highlighted that he supports the mentioned initiative, proposing that during his visit to Montenegro, a programme of joint activities in the field of culture should be conceptualised in detail. Furthermore, he emphasised that he was pleased that Azerbaijan artists were increasingly represented in Montenegro and expressed the expectation that Montenegro’s artists would be as present as possible on the Azerbaijani cultural scene.

Minister Bogdanović also discussed cooperation in the field of affirmation of the cultural heritage of the two countries. He pointed to the listing of the Azerbaijani rug on the UNESCO List of Intangible Heritage could be a useful experience for Montenegro, mainly since there is an initiative to apply for the development of Bihor rug on the list above, reports Ministry of Culture of Montenegro.

In this context, Minister Garayev stated that a presentation of Bihor rug could be organised at the Baku Museum of Carpeting, with the Azerbaijani entities fully ready to transfer experience regarding the application process of their rugs to the UNESCO list.

"During the discussion, we concluded that there is an exceptional space for strengthening cultural cooperation. It is of particular significance that the first steps in this field have already been made, but I believe that a period of intensive activities is yet to come. On this path, I suggested Minister Garayev sign the Cooperation Programme of our Ministries of Culture during his visit to Montenegro. Thus we formally start broad cooperation, starting with some common trades belonging to the intangible heritage of both countries, to film, literature and other fields," Minister Bogdanović noted.

Charge d' Affairs of Montenegro to Azerbaijan Željko Radulović also attended the meeting.

Read more news about politics in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.