Neither the government, nor the Prime Minister, nor the President, nor the Parliament Speaker of Montenegro have reacted to a deputy's vote against Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe. The Montenegrin opposition has labeled this act as anti-European.
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| The head of the delegation of Montenegro to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, on March 28, 2024, Maja Vukiqević |
On March 27, Maja Vukicevic, head of the Montenegrin delegation to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), voted against the proposal for Kosovo to become a member of the Council of Europe.
Vukicevic is a member of the Democratic People's Party (DNP), a pro-Russian party in the Montenegrin parliament, and a former member of the Democratic Front, whose agenda included withdrawing recognition of Kosovo's independence, lifting sanctions against Russia, and Montenegro's exit from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Her party considers Kosovo part of Serbia, calling it a "false state" and a "temporarily occupied territory."
This party has been part of the ruling majority in Montenegro since the government change in 2020, when it replaced the Democratic Party of Socialists, which recognized Kosovo's independence in 2008.
Since then, three governments have been formed in Montenegro.
The programs of each government do not question the country's foreign policy course, which has been a NATO member since 2017 and a candidate for EU membership.
In anticipation of the formation of the current government of Millojko Spajic, majority parties, including the DNP, signed a coalition agreement pledging to "respect the country's Euro-Atlantic course and develop friendly cooperation with all countries recognized by Montenegro."
The stance expressed in the PACE Political Committee violates the government coalition agreement, says international law professor Nebojsha Vucinic to Radio Free Europe.
"This is why the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must be careful. We know the views of the extreme Serbian option - which is against Montenegro's independence, against European integration, and Western values."
REL asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Montenegro if Deputy Vukicevic's vote in PACE could damage Montenegro's relations with Kosovo, and if it clearly violates the coalition agreement, which requires signatories to "cooperate with all countries recognized by Montenegro."
No response was received. Neither the state president, Jakov Milatovic, nor Prime Minister Spajic, nor the head of diplomacy, Filip Ivanovic, have reacted.
"Minister Ivanovic, Prime Minister Spajic, President Milatovic... look us in the eye if they've kidnapped you!", said opposition Social Democrats, assessing that the parties of the former Democratic Front are successfully implementing the agenda with which Montenegro officially aligned against the West.