Abazović’s government is openly legitimizing itself as a brake on accession negotiations with the EU

The government of Dritan Abazovic is openly legitimising itself as an obstacle in the accession negotiations with the European Union and is gambling with the highest national interest – EU membership, Daliborka Uljarević, Executive Director of the Centre for Civic Education (CGO), told Radio Free Europe.

She sees the fact that the government ignored the negative opinion of the European Commission on 15 December when approving the draft law on the confiscation of criminal assets as a continuation of a policy “turning its back on the European Union”.

The ruling majority had previously adopted the amended Presidential Law on 12 December, contrary to the Venice Commission’s opinion.

The government has not yet decided to abolish economic citizenship and align visa liberalisation with EU standards, as explicitly requested by Brussels.

The price we may pay for all this is high, because the EU could pull the brakes, which would be bad for us. Some potential isolationist policy measures are already visible – says Uljarević.

In April this year, the government of Dritan Abazovic won support in Parliament precisely because of its promises to unblock and accelerate Montenegro’s European integration.

The government adopted the controversial law for Brussels

One of the first promises of the governing majority formed after the August 2020 elections was that the fight against the illicit enrichment of public officials would be a key priority of the work.

One of the key steps along this path is the adoption of the so-called “anti-mafia law” on the confiscation of criminal assets. Although it was set without public debate, the government forwarded it to the Assembly for adoption, considering it to be a “historic solution”.

Justice Minister Marko Kovač told a cabinet meeting on 15 December that “the EC’s opinion showed that the law is fully complementary with the EU acquis”.

Three days later, the NGO MANS published an EC Opinion signed by the Head of the Montenegro and Serbia Unit, Michael Miller, showing that the law had received a negative opinion in Brussels.

“The Brussels administration is concerned about the solution proposed by the government, as an expert assessment has shown that there are risks and challenges in its application if it were adopted in its current form.”

The Ministry’s response was that the letter was not an opinion of the European Commission, but an accompanying letter on the application of the law.

Uljarević says she is not surprised by the response of the line ministry.

It is not surprising that ministers such as Marko Kovač, Minister of Justice, are stating serious untruths when it comes to their opinion on the draft law on asset forfeiture, while the EU itself denies them in this respect – Uljarević stressed.

She believes that politicians are going into direct confrontation with the EU, “because it is clear to everyone that the European opportunity for Montenegro is irretrievably lost”.

Ćalović: We have not fought for this for 30 years

As the government has not announced the withdrawal of the controversial text of the law, it will be presented to MEPs at the end of December.

Vanja Ćalović Marković, Director of the NGO MANS, hopes that the law in its current form will not be adopted by the Assembly, as she argues it would create chaos and allow those who have acquired property through crime “to get away with it”.

This is not what we have been fighting for for almost 30 years, said Ćalović Marković.

The law, she told Radio Free Europe, would allow the legalisation of assets acquired over the years through criminal activities, especially those hidden abroad and kept out of the reach of state authorities.

The government should not propose such a solution – says Ćalović Marković, suggesting that they do not have public support.

This government is in a technical mandate and has the support of perhaps five percent of the population. The key is the parliamentary majority, which has promised a law that will confiscate all illegally acquired assets. That they do not agree to compromises that essentially legalise everything that has been happening – she said.

Among other things, the law provides for the confiscation of assets only in cases where an indictment has been confirmed for offences falling within the jurisdiction of a special public prosecutor.

Previously, the government had ignored the recommendations of the Venice Commission

The Parliamentary majority and the Government did not simply ignore the EU Opinion on the asset forfeiture law.

The same happened with the adoption of the amendments to the Presidential Law, which were adopted despite the Venice Commission’s explicit recommendation not to adopt them because they constituted an amendment to the Constitution. The European Commission then called on the parliamentary majority to withdraw the adopted law.

This law allows Parliament to take over part of the President’s constitutional powers.

Uljarević argues that the ruling majority ignored the opinion of the Venice Commission, which is crucial in shaping the EU’s position when it comes to issues of respect for the constitutional and legal order.

Only someone ignorant of the issue of integration or someone who consciously opposes it for the sake of personal interests can trivialize that opinion. In our case, it is the latter – believes Uljarević.

Uljarević: The basic agreement was a detour from the European path

Uljarević recalled that the first direct deviation from the European path was when, as she said, the legally and constitutionally controversial Basic Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church was signed, despite criticism from the domestic public and warnings from international partners.

The signing of the agreement on the regulation of relations between Montenegro and the Serbian Orthodox Church has caused tension in society, according to the latest Report on Montenegro’s progress in the European integration process.

On 3 August 2022, Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic and the Patriarch of the SPC Porfirije signed the Basic Agreement in Podgorica.

When he needed to homogenize society around the issue of speeding up European integration, when that window for Montenegro was open for a short time, Abazović chose the opposite path, which he and his followers are still running on – Uljarević assessed.

Uljarević believes that the final word is the implementation of the political goals of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

No one will explicitly say that it is against the EU

Although practice shows that they have turned their backs on the EU, Uljarević believes that no politician will explicitly say so.

This would be the opposite of the majority opinion of our citizens. And no one would go openly against it. Because the citizens want this road. The realisation of the dream of the European idea has become questionable because the number of those who are committed to it has decreased, she said.

Uljarević says it is not known how much money Montenegro has lost by not participating in many programmes due to an incompetent administration.

Montenegro has received more than half a billion euros from the EU over the last ten years for various reasons.

Uljarević warns that Montenegro is losing political credibility in the EU because of its politicians.

The actors of the EU see that our politicians are deceitful, that they treat the EU like citizens. They promise one thing, do the other, talk about the third – she pointed out.

She notes that for the Abazović government, it has all been about preserving power, “even at the cost of gambling with the highest national interests, such as EU membership”.

Montenegro has been a candidate for EU membership for ten years, during which time it has opened all chapters and provisionally closed three./Pobjeda/