At a meeting held on Sunday 5 July in Podgorica, Montenegro’s ruling parliamentary majority and the opposition agreed to advance amendments to several essential legislative texts, notably in the areas of home affairs, security and electoral reform, which are fundamental issues if the country is to move forward in its accession process to the European Union.
In a joint statement, the European Union Delegation to Montenegro, which facilitated the talks, said that the meeting “marks a step towards strengthening political dialogue and mutual trust between the parliamentary majority and the opposition, particularly in the context of seeking agreement on constitutional amendments and on other decisions requiring a qualified majority in Parliament, in the interest of Montenegro’s European future”.
More specifically, the majority and the opposition agreed “to initiate changes to the legislation governing home affairs and national security, in order to improve certain applicable legal provisions”, notably the appointment procedures and composition of the commission responsible for verifying obstacles to security clearance, provided for by the law on home affairs, as well as to strengthen the judicial oversight mechanisms provided for by the law on the National Security Agency.
The two sides also agreed “to step up without delay efforts to appoint two judges to the Constitutional Court, as well as to conduct an inclusive dialogue on all appointments” that Montenegro’s Parliament has to approve, in order “to ensure the broadest possible consensus between the parliamentary majority and the opposition”, according to the statement cited.
As regards electoral reform, the majority and the opposition undertook “to strive to adopt, by consensus, the decisions relating to electoral reform before the 2027 elections, within the framework of a responsible and inclusive political and societal dialogue”, recognising that its implementation constitutes a “priority” in order “to meet the political criteria for accession to the European Union”.
Montenegro is aiming to conclude the accession negotiations by the end of 2026 and to join the European Union in 2028 as the 28th Member State. To date, the country has closed 16 of the 32 chapters in the accession negotiations. (Original version in French by Ana Pisonero Hernández)