Montenegro and the political stalemate between pro-European and pro-Serbian forces

2023-12-23 19:52:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Montenegro and the political stalemate between pro-European and pro-Serbian

Illustrative photo

Montenegro continues to be in a political impasse between the political forces that support the Euro-Atlantic processes and those pro-Serbian and pro-Russian that are against the integration of Montenegro in the European Union. The victory of the Serbian Progressive Party of Aleksandar Vu?i? in the parliamentary elections in Serbia, according to political analysts, has encouraged the supporters of the Serbian world even more to fight against the state interest of Montenegro and in favor of Serbian interests by any means.

The well-known Montenegrin analyst Andrej Nikolaidis points out that "Vu?i? with some Serbian officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, who participated in his election headquarters, represents the Serbian world that aims to expand Serbia in the region." .

The Montenegrin opposition in the last session of the parliament strongly criticizes the appearance of the Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mandi?, in the election headquarters of Vu?i? in Belgrade, celebrating the victory of the Serbian Progressive Party. With this action, Mandiqi openly shows hegemonic claims in the region", said the opposition.

Mandi? is the leader of the Serbian New Democracy - a member of the pro-Serb and pro-Russian Democratic Front, which has recently been renamed the "For the Future of Montenegro" coalition.

Mandi? has always repeated that the priorities of his party's foreign policy are the lifting of sanctions against Russia and the withdrawal of the recognition of Kosovo's independence. His party is also an opponent of Montenegro's membership in NATO.

Washington and the European Union have been very concerned about the involvement of parties and leaders who oppose Euro-Atlantic values."

Even the Montenegrin census, which is being held in Montenegro, according to analysts, has become a political issue between the largest pro-Montenegro and pro-Serb political groups. Analysts point out that the census may change the national structure of the population in Montenegro.

This suspicion was further heightened after the Montenegrin prosecutor's office announced that it has launched an investigation after the Statistics Authority of Montenegro confirmed that 16 of its enumerators and an instructor were excluded from the population census campaign.

Officials said the individuals in question were suspected of using erasable pens in the field, and some were found to have replicas other than the originals. Representatives of the opposition political parties in Montenegro called for an investigation to find out whether the violations were organized.

They have requested a check of the data collected by the exempted registrars, before they are entered into the final register. Even in the report of the European Commission it was warned that the population and housing census requires careful management by the authorities, especially when it comes to sensitive issues related to ethnicity, religion and language.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic, stayed in Brussels where he presented the government's work plan for the next year and emphasized that he is convinced that Montenegro will succeed in achieving the results of the European agenda.

"Montenegro wants to be a desirable member of the European Union, contributing at all levels. We are sure that we have all the preconditions for this to happen", said Prime Minister Spajic.

However, in the report of the General Affairs Council in Brussels on December 12, the need for political consensus in fulfilling the reform obligations was emphasized.

"Montenegro must immediately refocus its efforts on meeting the interim standards of Chapters 23 and 24 on the rule of law. No other chapter will be temporarily closed before this historic moment is reached", it was said on this occasion in the European Union./ Voa