Montenegro – European Affairs Magazine

PM Marković in Atlantic Council: This is small step for the USA and its allies, but great day for Montenegro

7 Giugno 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković attended the ceremony of the Atlantic Council on Monday evening. He said that entry into NATO is a historic moment for Montenegro and that this goes to reiterate the ties of alliance and friendship that exist between his country and the United States. He stressed that Montenegro is ready to take on all the responsibilities that this international commitment entails and will ensure that this goes not only for the benefit of political or economic alliances, but also for the benefit of the citizens themselves. Vice President of the United States Mike Pence particularly welcomed Prime Minister Marković and his Country: He also reiterated the principle on which the alliance is based, namely that a single country attack is considered as an attack on everyone else as well. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright welcomed Montenegro as well.

Guardian: In addition to Montenegro, Russia stoking discord in Macedonia

6 Giugno 2017 BreakingNews @en di

The documents obtained by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) suggests that Russia has played a very invasive role in the countries of former Yugoslavia, also to prevent them from being too involved in the gravitational orbit of NATO. The Guardian also comes to very similar conclusions. The most striking example in this sense is the one of Macedonia, where the country’s Social Democrat leader, Zoran Zaev, was sworn in as prime minister, after six months of political crisis. He, who is part of a center-left coalition supported by two ethnic Albanian groups, affirmed that he wants to fight corruption and want to bring Macedonia into NATO. The Macedonian nationalists have given rise to very violent protests against him. This, according to studies, is part of some intelligence operations triggered by Russia since 2008 to prevent the Balkans from approaching too much NATO. But The Guardian said that on NATO, the Kremlin has experienced setbacks. In April, Montenegro’s parliament voted to become the military alliance’s newest member. Bosnia and Herzegovina are candidates for entry. Even Serbia has deepened ties with NATO, even if the resentment many Serbs feel towards the alliance is not easy to hide because of the war of 1990s.

Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo established Joint Centre for Police Cooperation

31 Maggio 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Minister of Interior of Montenegro Mevludin Nuhodžić, Minister of Interior of Albania Dritan Demiraj and Deputy Minister of Interior of Kosovo Valdet Hoxha sined a Protocol for establishing the Joint Centre for Police Cooperation in Plav. This protocol will include exchange of information to fight against crime and make activities more effective at national borders. The Montenegrin minister said that this will help safeguard the stability of the region by fighting against transnational criminal organizations. The Kosovo Minister has also been fully in agreement with what he said, asserting that the protocol itself will make the region safer and will also help to monitor the phenomenon of illegal immigration and human trafficking. German Ambassador to Montenegro Hans Günther congratulated the governments of Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo, saying that Germany will support this kind of acts of cooperation, and so did the US Ambassador to Montenegro Margaret Ann Uyehara.

Darmanovic: Russia’s involvement surprised us

29 Maggio 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Minister of Foreign Affairs Srdjan Darmanovic was surprised by the strong involvement of Russia in Montenegro’s internal affairs. It refers in particular to the support that, in his opinion, Russian intelligence has given to anti-NATO oppositions within Montenegro. He stressed that Montenegro’s involvement within NATO is not an aggressive assault against any country, including Russia: in fact, as he added, Podgorica keeps having strong commercial relations with Moscow and also economically under different profiles, such as the tourist one. He stressed that the Balkan area is heading towards NATO, with particular reference to Albania, and towards the European Union.

PM Marković: Montenegro in NATO brings stability to region, we expect merit-based evaluation of our EU integration

13 Maggio 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Montenegro Prime Minister Duško Marković said during a meeting that Euro-Atlantic area is facing new threats and according to him the best way to deal with these new challenges is to join the security framework provided by NATO. He also said that Montenegro membership in NATO will give a new kind of balance not only for the country itself, but also for the entire Balkan area. Furthermore, speaking about the European integration of Montenegro, he added that the country will be able to satisfied the remaining criteria for membership in the next five years, improving through that European enthusiasm, stabilisation and cooperation with the Balkan area.

Serbian PM Vucic will meet the pro-Serb opposition’s leaders in Montenegro

23 Novembre 2016 BreakingNews @en/Politics di

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic will meet leaders of the pro-Serb opposition in Montenegro even though some of them have been accused of involvement in a coup attempt. The leaders of the pro-Serbian opposition and Serb organisations demanded an urgent meeting with Vucic in Belgrade two weeks ago about what they said was the “intolerable situation” facing the Serb community in Montenegro, but Vucic told journalists that he had not meet them yet because he was too busy.