Domestic political crisis – Montenegro threatens to halt accession negotiations

The background to the mission is attempts by the pro-Serbian parliamentary majority to overthrow the constitutional order in Montenegro. Because President Milo Dukanovic has refused to appoint a new government, he should be stripped of his powers by law. However, the blatant unconstitutionality of this undertaking cannot be established, as the Montenegrin Constitutional Court is currently unable to act due to four vacant judge positions.

Schallenberg speaks of a “clear warning”
The new presidential law is “highly questionable to say the least,” Schallenberg said at a joint press conference with Fajon at the EU representation in Montenegro. If implemented, the EU should “rethink” its position towards Montenegro. “We will not ignore it in Brussels if this country decides to take the wrong path,” Schallenberg emphasizes. The visit is not a “good mood visit”, but one that results in a “clear warning”. Fajon also spoke of an “alarm call”. They announced they would report to Borrell and her counterparts at the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in January.

Austria and Slovenia largest supporters of the Western Balkans
Both ministers emphasized that Austria and Slovenia are among the biggest supporters of the Western Balkans and Montenegro on their way to the European Union. “We want this country to continue on the path of the EU. Anything else would be bad for the government and a catastrophe for the people of this country,” Schallenberg said. “Nobody wants that,” Fajon assured, in view of the imminent halt in accession negotiations. She pointed out that polls show that three-quarters of Montenegrins support their country’s EU membership.

During their visit, which lasted a few hours, Fajon and Schallenberg spoke with President Dukanovic, Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic and Speaker of Parliament Danijela Durovic. The two EU ministers declined to give details of the talks, but have made their own demands. In concrete terms, they demanded that the procedure for filling the four vacancies at the Supreme Court should start this week and be completed “by the end of January at the latest”. They have also indicated that they will not recognize a government formed under the controversial new presidential law. It would have been “risky to say the least” to form a government before the Constitutional Court could have commented on the law.

Solution must come from Montenegro
When asked, Fajon admitted that she and Schallenberg had come as “mediators”. However, they did not want to make their own proposals public. The solution must come from Montenegro itself, Fajon stressed. “We are ready to help them help themselves,” as her Austrian colleague put it. When asked about early elections, Fajon spoke out in favor of finding a consensus among political actors on this.

Democracy in the country in danger
President Dukanovic and his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), who were voted out in 2020, see democracy in the country at risk and are pushing for early parliamentary elections. They fear that the pro-Serbian-dominated opposition could use the constitutional vacuum to drag the country into the lanes of Belgrade and Moscow. Since breaking away from the common state with Serbia in 2006, Montenegro has been regarded as a pro-Western model student in the region. It joined NATO in 2017 and is the most advanced of all candidate countries in EU accession negotiations.

“Montenegro is one of the closest partners of the European Union, has made good progress in accession negotiations and has the longest tradition of full compliance with the EU’s common foreign and security policy,” the EU’s foreign service said in announcing the move. the Schallenberg-Fajon visit. “The visit comes at a time when recent political developments have created a serious institutional crisis, undermined democratic institutions and slowed the country’s progress on the accession path.”