Thewesternbalkans.
What’s new
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos visited Montenegro on 16-17 January. This marks her first mission to the Western Balkans and reaffirms the EU’s reinforced engagement with the region and determination to step up the pace of the accession process.
In the capital of Montenegro, Marta Kos met with the country’s President Jakov Milatović, the Speaker of Parliament Andrija Mandić, the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and leaders of the parliamentary opposition.
During the meetings in Podgorica, M. Kos said that Montenegro’s EU membership should be “a national project that will include everyone”.
Why it matters
Montenegro is the frontrunner in the Western Balkans in accession negotiations, with a realistic prospect of accession in 2028. However, the country is currently in a political and constitutional crisis. The Montenegrin opposition believes that the Constitution has been violated because the parliament, without the mandatory notification of the Constitutional Court, decided in mid-December last year to terminate the function of a judge of the Constitutional Court (Dragana Đuranović), due to the fact that she met the conditions for retirement in accordance with the Law on Pensions and Disability Insurance. The opposition claims that this was done in order to “govern without elections” and is boycotting the work of the parliament.
The deputies of the opposition forces also did not attend the session of the Assembly, at which the European Commissioner made an address. Damir Šehović, the leader of the Social Democrats and one of the presidents of the European Alliance, said that the parliament, led by Andrija Mandić, who is a strong opponent of Montenegro’s pro-Western course, is not the right place for serious discussions on Montenegro’s European future.
What next
One of the tasks of the Enlargement Commissioner in Podgorica was to clarify how the EU could help resolve the constitutional crisis. For example, this could be done through the arbitration of the Venice Commission. The visit of the Slovenian Marta Kos to Montenegro also aims to emphasize the importance of a merit-based approach to enlargement. The individual approach clearly takes precedence over group integration, which is advocated, for example, by M. Kos’ compatriot – former Slovenian President Borut Pahor, who ran for the post of EU Special Envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue.
However, in early January, Borut Pahor announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the post due to disagreements in his position and the EU’s position on the issue of EU enlargement.
Pahor believes that the EU sees Ukraine as the basis for enlargement, not the Western Balkans. Pahor believes that it would be appropriate to carry out an enlargement similar to the one in 2004, i.e. this should be group integration, and it should be done by 2030.
In addition, Pahor acknowledges that the recent appointment of Marta Kos as European Commissioner for Enlargement will not benefit his own candidacy.
