On Wednesday, 26 February, the co-chairs of the EU-Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee called for the Montenegrin opposition to end their boycott.
In a joint statement issued at the end of the committee meeting, President of the Parliament of Montenegro Ivan Brajović and Vladimír Bilčík (EPP, Slovakia) emphasised, “political boycott is not a solution and we urge all opposition MPs to take up their seats in Parliament”, adding that it was very important for political dialogue to take place within the Montenegrin parliament.
In their opinion, it is “the responsibility of all political forces represented in the Parliament to address fully the outstanding OSCE/ODIHR electoral observation missions’ recommendations”, despite the fact that the temporary Parliamentary Committee for Comprehensive Reform of Electoral [...] Legislation was unable to successfully complete its work before the end of its mandate (see EUROPE 12394/17).
Moreover, according to these two politicians, the opposition is expected to participate in the next municipal and parliamentary elections to be held in April and (at the latest) November 2020, respectively. They are ultimately asking the opposition to participate in the parliamentary committee’s future meetings.
The joint statement also highlights the need to address the challenges in the areas of freedom of expression and media as a matter of priority and to make progress in the independence, transparency, accountability, and efficiency of all judicial institutions and in the establishment of a track record in fighting corruption and organised crime at all levels.
With regard to the Law on Freedom of Religion, which is being debated in Montenegro, Mr Brajović and Mr Bilčík called for the continuation of an inclusive dialogue with all relevant stakeholders. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)