Diplomarius-ENG-01

Transcription

Diplomarius-ENG-01

Interview: CROATIAN AMBASSADOR TO
MONTENEGRO, IVANA SUTLIC-PERIC:
Montenegro
will be the
next country
to join NATO
40-43
Successful
european year
behind us,
impetus for new
integration victories
Diplomarius
Magazine of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro
Number I, august, 2013.
20-21
Ministarstvo
vanjskihAffairs
poslova
Ministry of Foreign
andi evropskih
Europeanintegracija
Integration
ofCrne
Montenegro
Gore
Igor LUKŠIĆ PhD, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro
Economic Diplomacy and Cooperation
with Diaspora - priorities of the MFAEI
4-5
Montenegro assumed presiding
over US-Adriatic Charter (A5)
“The Western Balkans six +2“
33-35
46-48
Ministryr of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
Diplomarius, august, 2013.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
The media and NATO
Bilateral relations
Economic diplomacy and cooperation with
diaspora priorities MFAEI.....................................4-5
The Role of Media in the European
Integration Process..........................................32-33
Diplomacy of small countries in
conteporary diplomatic relations.........49-51
Economic diplomacy
Montenegro and Diaspora
Establishing of efficacious
mechanism of integrated
economic diplomacy........................................34-37
Montenegro and emigration.....................52-55
- Igor Lukšić PhD, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
and European Integration of Montenegro
Foreign policy
Diplomarius
Magazine of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
European Integration of Montenegro
Number I
August, 2013
Published: semiannual
Publisher: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro
For publisher:Igor LUKŠIĆ PhD, Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Editor-in-chief:
Gordana Jovanović
Editorial team:
Nada Vojvodić, Tijana Vuković,
Ivan Vučinić
Review of foreign policy activities of the
Government of Montenegro....................... 6-19
- Editorial team
European integration
Successful european year behind us, impetus
for new integration victories...................20-21
- Amb. Aleksandar Andrija Pejović, State Secretary - Chief
Negotiator for Negotiations over Montenegrin Accession to EU
Secreteriat of negotiating group............22-23
- Editorial team
Editorial board:
Vladimir Radulović,
Aleksandar Andrija Pejović,
Predrag Stamatović, Nataša Jovović,
Željko Perović, Branislav Karadžić,
Damir Grbović, Dragana Radulović,
Ivana Petričević, Snežana Radović,
Biljana Šćekić
European integration, project of
entire society.........................................................24-25
Photo Editor: Duško Miljanić
How did we prepare Action Plans
for Chapters 23 and 24?...................................26-28
Design: Adil Tuzović
Contact: Address: Department for Public Relations, Communication Support for Integration
Process and Public Diplomacy
tel: +382 (20) 241 416
e-mail: [email protected]
web: www.mip.gov.me
Stanka Dragojevića 2, Podgorica
- Nada Vojvodić, Advisor at the office
Chief Negotiator for Negotiations over Montenegrin Accession to EU
- Isidora Sekulić Šoć, journalist in RTCG
- Biljana Šćekić, Director General of the Directorate General
for Economic Diplomacy and Cultural Cooperation
Montenegro in the tap-iap
project corridor..................................................38-39
Editorial team
Interview
CROATIAN AMBASSADOR TO MONTENEGRO, IVANA SUTLIĆ-PERIĆ :
Montenegro Will be the next
country to join NATO.............................................40-43
Đorđe Radulović, Attache, Directorate General for Bilateral Affairs
- Gordan Stojović, Director at the Directorate
Directorate General for Consular Affairs and Diaspora
Consular Affairs
Representation in providing
consular services...............................................56-57
- MA Nikola Ivezaj, II Secretary
Adjustment of Montenegro to EU
standards in visa policy, migrations, asylum
and readmission.................................................58-59
- Interviewer: Milan Žugić, Mina Agency journalist
- Radomir Sekulović, Independent Advisor,
Multilaterals affairs
Young and diplomacy
World trade organization analyzed the
challenges of fast changing nature of
world trade...........................................................44-45
The sixth summer school for young
diplomats “Gavro Vukovic”..........................60-63
- Miodrag Radović, Secretary of the Working Groups for Chapters 23 and 24
- MA Zorica Marić Đorđević, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of
Montenegro to the World Trade Organization and the Special
Representative of Montenegro to the United Nations Human Rights Council
Milena Iličković, Aleksandar Obradović
Beneficiaries of the Program of Professional Training
and Development in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and European Integration
NATO
Multilaterals affairs / Region
Finance
Montenegro, assumed presiding over
US-Adriatic Charter (A5)..................................29-31
“The Western Balkans six +2!”........................46-48
Budget execution the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and European Integration..........64-65
2 of Directorate for NATO
- Ljiljana Janković, Director
- Tamara Mugoša, Director of the Directorate for neighboring countries,
Directorate General for bilateral relations
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
3
Igor Lukšić PhD, Deputy Prime Minister
Economic diplomacy and cooperation
with diaspora priorities MFAEI
Dear readers,
rently from the approach that has been dominating our society
for far too long is yet another indicator of depressing inferiority.
Inspired by other ministries in charge of the same or similar
affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
has decided to publish a periodical overview of the numerous
activities implemented in the field of diplomacy and European
integration, in order to provide additional information for the
local and international public, as well as to increase the transparency of work of MFAEI.
When gaining its independence, the priority of the state was EU
and NATO membership and so it must remain. In the period
when the decision was made to open the negotiations for EU
membership, Montenegro has had the best rating and the best
international position in its recent history. Recent adoption of
the constitutional amendments, as well as implementation of
the action plans for promotion of the rule of law, with adequate
approach to some other issues, will lead to opening of negotiations on Chapters 23 and 24, thus giving an impetus to negotiations in many other areas.
The citizens are increasingly interested in various spheres of public action, and foreign affairs and European integration issues
are always in the focus of attention. This is not only one of the
traditional functions of the state, which in times of turbulence,
globalization, European integration, etc. is gaining importance;
it can rather be said that a responsible and quality communication with others contributes to more realistic definition of local
priorities and duties. Speaking about successful foreign policy
in the absence of a consistent internal policy responsible to future generations is impossible. Likewise, ignoring obligations
related to the integration process in the today’s Europe would
result in self-isolation of a country, with a far reaching political,
economic and security impact. Unwillingness to think diffe-
Introduction
Further development of economic relations through infrastructure projects, such as the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, reduction of business barriers for citizens and the economy, and enhanced cooperation in the fight against organized crime, represent the very essence of the efforts to give additional
meaning to the regional initiatives, aimed at promoting European prospects of the countries of this
region, and at encouraging economic development in the period before EU membership. I expect
that our proactive approach in this field will give concrete results in the upcoming period.
This is of key importance, because combination of the rule of
law and economic freedoms represents a formula that secures
dynamic economic system and GDP growth in the long run, as
well as new employment and improved living standard. To that
end, development of institutions that ensure a stable and predictable business environment in the long run, independently
from the structure of the Government in political terms and
terms of individual staffing, represents a key contribution to the
long-term economic progress that is generated by the political
system. Thus, it is only logical that transfer of the best European
4
practices represents the only possible answer, because it is not
possible, or opportune at the moment, to transfer the standards
applied in other continents. Of additional importance for Montenegro is the fact that efforts in this area make the European
integration process compatible with NATO membership.
In this context, regional policy is becoming even more important. Further development of economic relations through infrastructure projects, such as the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, reduction
of business barriers for citizens and the economy, and enhanced cooperation in the fight against organized crime, represent
the very essence of the efforts to give additional meaning to the
regional initiatives, aimed at promoting European prospects of
the countries of this region, and at encouraging economic development in the period before EU membership. I expect that our
proactive approach in this field will give concrete results in the
upcoming period.
In the era of technological innovations, international relations
have changed their dynamics. Today, correspondence is more
flexible, faster, to a large extent relieved from protocols that
characterized diplomacy in the past, while the ambassadors,
as representatives of their countries, are no longer exclusive
negotiators and conveyers of official views, but rather repre-
sentatives of the state, becoming “commercial travellers” with
the primary task to promote the state they represent. For that
reason, Montenegro needs to be more adequately represented
in as many of the relevant addresses apart from Europe. At the
same time, it is necessary to work in an economical manner.
Thus, in the past few months, we have initiated accreditation of
non-resident Montenegrin ambassadors to several multilateral
organizations, in order to ensure our presence in all the relevant
forums, such as the Organization of American States, African
Union, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and ASEAN. With
the appointment of non-resident ambassadors to the G20 countries where we have no representative, we have completed
the development of our diplomatic network for the upcoming
period.
This approach fully corresponds with two specific priorities in
the work of MFAEI – economic diplomacy and cooperation
with the diaspora. Efforts in this field are never sufficient. In
some ways, implementation of these priorities is interrelated.
Thus, it is necessary to continuously search for mechanisms
that will enable better presentation of development potential,
i.e. draw the attention of investors on the one hand, and make
our diaspora feel respected, promoted and welcome, on the
other. For that reason, we have intensified the efforts to imple-
5
ment the action plan for cooperation with the diaspora, as one
of our most important duties.
In order for the MFAEI to be able to meet all these challenges,
it is necessary to strengthen further this Ministry as an institution, which primarily involves adoption of all the normative acts
necessary for consistent implementation of the Foreign Affairs
Law. This very demanding task is coming close to its end, as well
as the creation of prerequisites for technical improvements in
the work of this Ministry and DCMs, through the introduction
of adequate standards, with the ambition to further reduce the
expenditures. However, without a permanent solution to the
issue of its business premises, having in mind the duties this Ministry has, we will not be able to fulfill the task of institutional
strengthening and recognition. For that reason, in my opinion
the decision to move the activities of this Ministry to the Old
Royal Capital represents an institutionally and historically responsible attitude towards this traditional function of the state.
Sincerely,
Igor Lukšić PhD, Deputy Prime Minister
Foreign policy
Review of foreign
policy activities of
the Government
of Montenegro
6
CONSULTATIONS WITH AMBASSADORS
Podgorica, 25-26 July - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration held
regular consultations with Ambassadors. In this year’s consultations, the speakers
were Milo Djukanovic, the Prime Minister, Ranko Krivokapic, Speaker of the Parliament, Igor Luksic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European
Integration, Dusko Markovic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Milica Pejanovic-Djurisic, Minister of Defense, Vladimir Kavaric, Minister of Economy, Branimir
Gvozdenovic, Minister of Tourism, and Miodrag Vukovic, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for International Relations and Emigrants. The participants concluded
that significant progress has been made when it comes to integration of Montenegro
into European and Euro-Atlantic structures, and that it was necessary to continue with
the economic promotion abroad, as well as reforms in all areas.
BRUSSELS: BELGIUM
FULLY SUPPORTS
MONTENEGRIN
ASPIRATIONS TO JOIN
EU AND NATO
Brussels, 10 July - During his visit to Brussels,
the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs and European Integration,
Igor Luksic, had a bilateral meeting with the
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium, Didier
Reynders. The Deputy Prime Minister of
Belgium, Didier Reynders said that the overall
bilateral relations are positive and emphasized
that there is room for further strengthening of
cooperation in numerous areas of a common
interest, especially when it comes to strengthening economic ties. Reynders stated that
Belgium fully supports Montenegrin aspirations to join EU and NATO.
MONTENEGRO MADE VISIBLE PROGRESS IN
THE PREVIOUS MAP CYCLE
Brussels, 10 July - The meeting between the North Atlantic Council (NAC) and Montenegro
was chaired by the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Alexsander Vershbow, while Montenegrin
delegation was lead by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European
Integration, Igor Luksic, and the Minister of Defense, Milica Pejanovic-Djurisic. Ministers Luksic
and Pejanovic-Djurisic informed NAC about progress that Montenegro has achieved in the
implementation of the third Annual National Program of Montenegro (ANP), thus ending the
implementation of the third MAP cycle. It was concluded that the third MAP cycle resulted in
continuity of reforms in key areas and that Montengro has achieved visible progress in the previous MAP cycle. NATO representatives assessed that Montenegro was a constructive actor and
factor of stability in the region, and have encouraged further reforms in reaching the standards
necessary for NATO membership.
7
MEMORANDA SIGNED BETWEEN THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND EUROPEAN
INTEGRATION OF MONTENEGRO AND THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF ROMANIA
Podgorica, 4 July - Montenegro serves as an example to the region and should be given
assistance in its European and Euro-Atlantic integration efforts, said Titus Corlatean,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, emphasizing that his country is ready to strongly
support these processes. Mr. Corlatean met with the President of Montenegro, FilipVujanovic, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Igor Luksic. Luksic
and Corlatean signed the Memoranda of Understanding between the two Ministries
related to cooperation in the area of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as cooperation between the two diplomatic academies. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania,
Titus Corlatean extended once again his gratitude to the citizens of Montenegro and all
the relevant authorities and services for the assistance provided after the recent traffic
accident in which 18 Romanian citizens lost their lives, and 29 were injured.
MONTENEGRIN
DELEGATION AT
CROATIA EU ENTRY
CEREMONY
PRINCE ALBERT II OF
MONACO VISITED
MONTENEGRO
Budva, 20 June - Prime Minister Milo
Đukanovićmet with Prince Albert
II of Monaco in Milocerto discuss
bilateral relations between the two
countries, especially the possibilities for economic cooperation. During this meeting, they have looked into the possibilities
to strengthen the cooperation between Montenegro and Monaco primarily in the area of
environmental protection, sustainable development and tourism.
Zagreb, 30 June - Approximately 120 presidents of states, parliaments, governments, as
well as Presidents of the European Council,
the European Parliament and the European
Commission, and numerous ministers and
ambassadors attended the official ceremony
in the Croatian capital. Montenegrin officials
- Filip Vujanovic, President of the State, Milo
Djukanovic, Prime Minister and Igor Luksic,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, have
also attended this event.
Prime Minister Milo
Djukanovic paid an
official visit
to Brussels
Brussels, 18 June - Prime Minister of Montenegro,
Milo Djukanovic, paid an official visit to Brussels,
where he met with Stefan Fule, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy. Prime Minister Djukanovic and the
European Commissioner met at a very important
moment for European integration of Montenegro,
when the Action Plans for the two most important
chapters, 23 - Judiciary and Fundamental Rights and
24 - Justice, Freedom and Security, are entering the
stage of final adoption, and when the Screening Process for Montenegro is coming close to an end. After the meeting, Prime Minister Djukanovic
said that the two-hour discussion with Commissioner Fule was an opportunity to summarize “what we have been doing in the past few months
and to agree on the priorities for the upcoming period”. Key point in their discussion was the rule of law, which is not unusual, as the Prime Minister
recalled: “Exactly through this new model of negotiations with Montenegro, European Union gave priority to these issues in negotiations with the
candidate countries”. Prime Minister Djukanovic and Commissioner Fule discussed current developments in the Western Balkan region, as well as
the role of Montenegro in strengthening regional stability, the ways to improve cooperation, and the current situation in the European Union.
AGREEMENTS SIGNED BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO AND
HIS SERENE HIGHNESS PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO
Podgorica, 20 June - In the presence of Prince
Albert II, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Igor Luksic, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mocano,
Jose Badia, have signed a Framework Agreement
8
between the Government of Montenegro and
the Government of His Serene Highness Prince
Albert II of Monaco. The Minister of Sustainable
Development and Tourism, Branimir Gvozenovic,
and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Monaco,
9
Jose Badia, signed the Protocol of Cooperaiton
between the Government of Montenegro and the
Government of HSH Prince of Monaco in the area
of sustainable development.
SKOPJE: MONTENEGRO
ASSUMED PRESIDING OVER
US-ADRIATIC CHARTER
Skopje, 18 June - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Igor Luksic,
participated in Skopje at the meeting of the Partner Commission of the US-Adriatic Charter at which Montenegro
took over presiding over this forum from the Republic of
Macedonia. The meeting, hosted by the Foreign Minister
of Macedonia, Nikola Poposki, was attended by high officials of the initative member states, as well as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Philip
Reeker, and representatives of Kosovo and Serbia.
VILNIUS: LITHUANIA IS A FRIEND
OF MONTENEGRO
VALLETTA: DEPUTY
PRIME MINISTER IGOR
LUKSIC MET WITH THE
MINISTER OF FOREIGN
AFFAIRS OF MALTA,
GEORGE VELLA
KIEV: PRIME MINISTER ĐUKANOVIĆ
MET WITH THE PRIME MINISTER OF
UKRAINE, MIKOL AZAROV
Vilnius, 17 June - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs and European Integration Igor Luksic visited Lithuania and met
with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Linas Antanas Linkevičius and
Vice President of the Parliament, Vytautas Gapshis. Expressing his
satisfaction with the excellent bilateral relations, Minister Linkevičius
emphasized that Lithuania is a friend to Montenegro, as well as to all
the other countries of this region. In this context, he underlined the
readiness of Lithuania to provide necessary support, both at expert
and political levels, in the further course of negotiations. During his
stay in Vilnius, Minister Luksic and Minister Linkevičius signed the
Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania and the Government of Montenegro regarding
cooperation in the field of European integration.
Kiev, 13 June - Revealing of the monument to Njegos, signing of
several bilateral agreements and general agreement to introduce a
direct flight from Podgorica to Kiev are the results of Prime Minister
Djukanovic’s stay in Ukraine. Djukanovic paid his first official visit to
Kiev, at the invitation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. This visit was
organized as a part of a large business conference, with participants
from 60 different countries, out of which 11 participants came from
Montenegro. During this visit, Montenegrin and Ukranian officials signed the agreements related to international road transport,
cooperation in case of natural and other catastrophes, cooperation
in combating crime and an agreement on scientific and technological
cooperation in the field of youth, sports and physical culture.
10
Valetta, 5. June, - Montenegro made a
significant step forward when it comes to EU
accession process, and this brought it into an
important position of a leader in the region.
Malta fully supports Montenegro in the
continuation of its integration process. This
was stated by the leaders of this country in the
meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Eurpean
Integration Igor Luksic. Deputy Prime Minister
Luksic met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs
of Malta, George Vella, the Speaker of the
Parliament, Anglu Farrugia, and the Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister for European
Affairs, Louis Grech, as well as the members of
the Committee for Foreign and European
Affairs in the Parliament of Malta.
Joint initiatives for
further integration
and improvement of
life of citizens in the
region
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
AND MINISTER OF
JUSTICE, DUSKO
MARKOVIC, PAID AN
OFFICIAL VISIT TO BERLIN
Belgrade, 30 May - Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European
Integration Igor Luksic paid a work visit to the
Republic of Serbia and met with the highest
state officials there. During his meeting with
Minister Luksic, President of Serbia, Tomislav
Nikolic, said that he is truly happy because of
the development of relations between the two
countries, and that there is room for further
improvement of these relations in the field of
economy, as well as culture. During his meeting
with the Prime Minister, Ivica Dacic, it was assessed that Montenegro and Serbia foster very
close relations and that the governments of the
two countries should act together and build
concrete initiatives and projects. Deputy Prime
Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, emphasized that the relations between Montenegro and
Serbia are exceptional and that close relations
between the neighboring states need to be transformed into concrete economic initiatives and
projects. Luksic also met with the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivan Mrkic, to discuss
new regional initiatives. Deputy Prime Minister
concluded his visit to Serbia by meeting the
President of the National Parliament, Nebojsa
Stefanovic.
Berlin, 4 June - Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Justice Duško Marković met with
German Justice Minister Sabina Leutheusser-Schnarrenbergerand exchanged views
regarding international judicial cooperation
of the two states, previous cooperation
in the field of judiciary, and the activities
that Montenegro is undertaking on its EU
accession path, with special emphasis on
the drafting of action plans for Chapters
23 and 24, as a prerequisite for opening of
negotiations for these Chapters, but also
for the strengthening of the rule of law in
Montenegro. On the second day of his stay
in Berlin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice met with Gunther Krichbaum,
President of the Bundestag Committee on
EU Affairs, Siegfried Kauder, President of the
Bundestag Committee on Legal Affairs, and
with Michael Geor Link, Minister of State
at Federal Foreign Office of Germany. They
exchanged views regarding the activities
Montenegro is undertaking within the EU
accession process and the development of
action plans for Chapters 23 and 24.
11
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF
JUSTICE DUSKO MARKOVIC VISITED THE HAGUE
The Hague, 29 May - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Dusko Markovicvisited the institutions of the EU and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the
Hague: the European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit - EUROJUST, the Ministry
of Security and Justice of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Parliament of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Deputy Prime Minister Markovic had a meeting
with the State Secretary in the Ministry of Security and Justice of the Kingdom of
the Netherlands, Fred Teeven.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
IGOR LUKSIC VISITED
BRUSSELS
Brussels, 28 May - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and
European IntegrationIgor Luksic paid a
visit to Brussels on 27-28 May and participated in the meeting of the Council of
Ministers of the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative
(AII), during the Slovenian Presidency.
He also attended the dinner organized
for the foreign ministers by the High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy for the European Union,
Catherine Ashton, and had other meetings with the officials from the AII member
states. During his visit to Brussels, Deputy Prime Minister Luksic met with the
Members of the European Parliament.
During the meetings he discussed new
ideas for regional cooperation that
would support further the plans of the
Regional Cooperation Council.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER RAFET HUSOVIC PAID
AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY
Istanbul, 30 May - During his visit to the Republic of Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Rafet Husovic met with the Turkish
Minister for Development Cevdet Yilmaz.
Minister Yilmaz welcomed the delegation
and emphasized that Turkey and Montenegro have excellent relations. Deputy Prime
Minister Husovic stated that cooperation
between Montenegro and Turkey is comprehensive and quality one, but that it needs to
be further improved, especially with regard
to economic issues. “We expect that this
quality cooperation will continue in the
field of economics, which would be further
encouraged and enhanced with the presence
of Ziraat Bank in Montenegro”, emphasized
Husovic.
BRUSSELS: DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER DUSKO MARKOVIC HAD
A MEETING WITH THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR ENLARGEMENT, STEFANO SANINO
Brussels, 28 May - Naturally, constitutional
amendments represent a very important issue
for the chapters related to the rule of law. We are
convinced that the Parliament will go in the right
12
direction and that it will manage to find agreeable solution for the necessary amendments,
said Director-General of the Directorate-General
for Enlargement, Stefano Sanino, following his
meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Justice Dusko Markovic.
“I am very satisfied with the development of
the situation and I hope that these issues will be
solved before the end of this summer and that
we will manage to open chapters 23 and 24,
thus speeding up opening of other chapters for
negotiations”, said Sanino.
LUKSIC-SPINDELEGGER:
AUSTRIA REMAINS A
COMMITTED PARTNER AND
FRIEND OF MONTENEGRO IN
THE CONTINUATION OF THE
NEGOTIATION PROCESS
YEREVAN: MONTENEGRO AND ARMENIA COMMITTED TO THE
STRENGTHENING OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC TIES
Yerevan, 07 May - Montenegro and Armenia are
strongly committed to the strengthening of political
and economic ties. The visit by the Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European
Vienna, 16 May -Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Foreign Affairs and European IntegrationIgor Luksic met with the Vice-Chancellor and
Foreign Minsiter of Austria Michael Spindeleggerduring his visit to Vienna. Spindelegger said that
Monteengro has started the negotiation process in
an excellent manner, assessing that Austria remains a committed partner and friend of Montenegro
in the continuation of the negotiation process.
Deputy Prime Minister Luksic extended his gratitude to the Government of Austria for continuous
supportto the ambitions of Montenegro in the
integration processes, as well as for the recently
organized international conference “Western
Balkans at the crossroad: challenge of European
integration at the time of crisis”, organized by the
Austro-French Center for Reconciliation in Europe.
Integration Igor Luksic to Armenia, as the first visit of
a Montenegrin official to this country since it restored
its independence, represents an important trigger for
future bilateral initiatives - this was concluded in the
meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Luksic and
the Armenian officials. Deputy Prime Minister Luksic
met with the President of the State, Serzh Sargsyan,
the Speaker of the Parliament, Hovyk Abrahamyanand the Prime Minister, Tigran Sargsyan, as well as
the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian.
LUKSIC - FULE: INSTITUTIONS COMMITTED TO THE RESPONSIBLE AND
QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS
Brussels, 24 April - During his stay in Brussels, Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and
European Integration, Igor Luksic, held a meeting with
Štefan Fule, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy. In their discussions they
focused on the dynamics of the activities stemming
from the European agenda. Deputy Prime Minister
Luksic informed Mr. Fule about the details of our
preparations for further activities in the negotiation
process, emphasizing that substantive communication
with the European Commission and continued expert
support will be important for further activities on our
path to the EU. Commissioner Fule congratulated
Deputy Prime Minister Luksic on the recent opening
and provisional closing of negotiations on Chapter 26
- Education and Culture. He stressed the importance
of meeting the requirements that await Montenegro
in the upcoming stages of the integration process, with
special emphasis on the rule of law.
Bratislava: Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic participated in the
Global Security Forum GLOBSEC 2013
Bratislava, 17-18 April - Prime Minister of Montenegro,
Milo Djukanovic, paid an official visit to the Republic of
Slovakia, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico. Prime Minsiter Djukanovic met with
the President of the State, Ivan Gasparovic, the Speaker
of the Parliament, Pavol Paska, as well as some of the
leading Slovakian businessmen. During his stay in Bratislava, Prime Minister of Montenegro was the guest of
honor in the leading security and foreign policy forum
in Central Europe - GLOBSEC 2013, which was organized in Bratislava. The Prime Minsiter gave a speech on
the future of the Balkans and European enlargement
policy in the region. Besides Djukanovic, this forum
was attended by the president of Estonia, Toomas
HendrikIlves, the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert
Fico, Foreign Ministers of the Visegrad Group - Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary - Miroslav
Lajcak, Radoslaw Sikorski, Karel Schwarzenberg and
Janos Martonyi, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement,
Stefan Fule, former United States National Security
Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, and other officials. This
conference was an opportunity to hold numerous
13
bilateral meetings with important counterparts from
Europe and the Untied States, dealing with Euro-Atlantic security, as well as an opportunity to strengthen
further regional cooperation, through the meetings
with senior officials from the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER LUKSIC AND MINISTER MRKIC SIGNED AN AGREEMENT
BETWEEN MONTENEGRO AND SERBIA ON MUTUAL REPRESENTATION AND
PROVISION OF CONSULAR PROTECTION AND SERVICES IN THIRD COUNTRIES
Podgorica, 19 April - Agreement between Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia on mutual representation
and provision of consular protection and services in third countries was signed in Vila Gorica by the Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Igor Luksic and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivan Mrkic.This meeting represents an important confirmation that the two
countries are committed to development of the best possible relations, both bilaterally and in the context of
integration processes - stated Luksic. The two officials agreed that for the European future of the countries of
this whole region it is important to adopt quality decisions in a timely manner, decisions that will be relieved
from the burden of our recent history and based on deep mutual understanding, thus, the decisions that will
encourage development and stability of our countries.
ASHTON: MONTENEGRO HAS A LOT
to OFFER TO THE REGION AND THE
EUROPEAN UNION; AN IMPORTANT EU
PARTNER AND CONSTRUCTIVE ACTOR IN
REGIONAL RELATIONS
Podgorica, 15 April - Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic hosted the EU High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Catherine
Ashton, who paid her first official visit to Montenegro. The Prime Minister
thanked her for the EU’s continued support to Montenegro’s European
path and informed his guestof the readiness of the Government in the new
mandate to invest particular effort to help improve the quality of life of the
citizens, which is closely intertwined with the country’s integration plans.
“Montenegro has so much to offer to the region and to the EU, from the
democratic renewal of independence, through the leading position in the
European integration process, good neighborly relations, with no open
issues, it proved to be an important EU partner and a constructive actor in
regional relations” - stated the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton in her discussion with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Igor
Luksic. Ashton praised Montenegro’s participation and contribution to the
common EU foreign and security policy, extended her gratitude for Montenegrin participation in the adoption of important foreign-policy decisions,
and concrete activities in EU diplomacy.
14
Lazovic: Mid-term development
policy in Montenegro focuses
on smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth
Istanbul, 9-12 April - A delegation of the Government of Montenegro,
lead by the Deputy Prime Minister Vujica Lazovic, participated in the
16th Eurasia Economic Summit. This year’s economics panel focused
on global challenges and the issue of ensuring stable and sustainable
use of natural resources. Lazovic emphasized that, although small in
size, Montenegro is a country of great natural potential. Priority sectors
for development are tourism, energy, industry and agriculture. With
the sustainable development and growth in these four sectors, natural
resources will be used to ensure wellbeing for all the citizens, through
employment and income growth, and to support the state - through
fiscal stability and to support the investors - through profits earned in the
long run.
Speakers in this year’s Summit were, inter alia, the Presidents of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo, the Speaker of the Parliament of Jordan, and
the President of the International Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor
of Istanbul, Deputy Prime Ministers, numerous ministers, and representatives of the European and Asian companies. During this Summit,
Deputy Prime Minister Lazovic had a bilateral meeting with the Minister
for Communication and Information Technologies of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, Ali Abbasov.
RASMUSSEN: WE
STRONGLY SUPPORT
MONTENEGRIN ROAD TO
NATO MEMBERSHIP
Brussels, 26 March - In the meeting of the
Secretary General of the NATO Alliance,
Anders Fogh Rasmussen with Prime Minister
Milo Djukanovic, it was noted that in a short
period of time, Montenegro has progressed
so much on its road to NATO and that the
Government will continue to work on the
issues of the rule of law and increasing public
support for accession. The sooner Montenegro implements the reforms, said Rasmussen,
the sooner it will become NATO member.
Rasmussen also stated that the door to
NATO is open to European democracies that
“meet the necessary criteria for membership
of the Alliance”. “The Open Door Policy
contributes to the European stability and our
vision is to see all the countries of the
Western Balkans integrated into Euro-Atlantic structures”, he added.
PRIME MINISTER MILO DJUKANOVIC WAS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER
AT THE PANEL “THE FUTURE OF EURO-ATLANTIC INTEGRATION”
Brussels, 16 March - The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milo
Djukanovic, was a keynote speaker in the debate “The Future of
Euro-Atlantic Integration”, within the Brussels forum that started in
Brussels on Friday and was attended by 500 of the most influential
politicians, businessmen and intellectuals from Europe and the United States. Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Alexander Vershbow
participated also in this panel, together with the President of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs in the German Bundestag, RuprechtPolenz, and the Executive Director of the McCain Institute for International Leadership, Kurt Volker, who served
as a former US Ambassador to NATO. The main topics of the Eighth Brussels Summit, held in the Steigenberger
Grand Hotel, were the challenges on both sides of the Atlantic: Northern and Southern Europe – conflict of civilizations, the future of Euro-Atlantic Integration, economic partnership between USA and EU; what Europe expects
from the USA, global trends – looking forward, vulnerability of the world after the crisis, Mali and Syria – facing
the ongoing crises, Egyptian and Arabic media after the revolution, human rights and foreign aid in Afghanistan
after the end of 2014.
FRANCE WELCOMES THE PROGRESS AND THE MANNER IN
WHICH REFORMS WERE IMPLEMENTED IN MONTENEGRO
Paris, 14 March - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
and European Integration, Igor Luksic met in Paris with the French Foreign
Minister, Laurent Fabius and the Vice-President of the Foreign Affairs
Committee in the National Assembly, Elisabeth Guigou. “France welcomes
the progress made so far and the manner in which reforms were implemented in Montenegro in the process of European integration. We are
certain that you will be successful in the negotiation process and we have
faith in Montenegro; a lot has been done, while there are still some challenges that need to be tackled and reforms to be implemented”, said Fabius. He emphasized that Montenegro and France
have excellent relations that need to be strengthened through concrete projects in the field of economy and culture.
Deputy Prime Minister Luksic said that French support is important for Montenegro and its further integration into EU
and NATO. He informed his counterparts in Paris about the achievements of Montenegro in the integration processes.
MONTENEGRIN SUCCESS IS AN ENCOURAGEMENT FOR FURTHER PROGRESS OF THE WHOLE REGION
Tirana, 11 March, - “An impressive success of Montenegro represents an encouragement for further progress to all
the countries in the next stage of integration” - said the highest Albanian officials in Tirana, during their meetings
with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Igor Luksic. Deputy
Prime Minister Igor Luksic paid a two-day visit to the Republic of Albania and met with President Bujar Nishani,
the Prime Minister Sali Berisha, the Speaker of the Parliament Jozefina Topalli, and the Foreign Minister Edmond
Panariti. The key role of economic relations in the future bilateral cooperation was emphasized in these meetings
with the senior officials of the Republic of Albania. It was concluded that positive political relations should be valorized in that respect. In these discussions, the two sides focused especially on the initatives in the field of energy,
transport, tourism, environment, education, and improvement of the rights of minorities in both countries.
15
NORWAY WELCOMES MONTENEGRIN
SUCCESS IN THE REFORM PROCESSES
FINLAND IS A STRONG PROMOTER OF
FURTHER EU ENLARGEMENT POLICY
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Igor
Luksic met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of FR Germany, Guido Westerwelle
Berlin, 20-21 February - Montenegro has mostly developed its negotiation infrastructure, and the authorities will continue to
develop action plans in order to open chapters 23 and 24 for negotiations, said the Montenegrin Minister of Foreign Affairs
and European Integration Igor Luksic. Luksic visited Berlin and met with his German colleague, Guido VWsterwelle. Westerwelle said that Montenegro is a young and dynamic country, with ambitious plans. “The negotiation framework has been
established and we are pleased to see that Montenegro has made such a progress”. Westerwelle said that it is important to
implement further reforms. “We have agreed on that, and the goal must be to implement European standards in important
areas, such as the rule of law and fight against crime”. Luksic said that Euro-Atlantic integration represents strategic interest of
Montenegro. “We see these two processes as part of an integrated campaign”. Deputy Prime Minister Luksic has also attended
the meeting of the Committee on the Affairs of the European Unionof the German Bundestag, chaired by Gunther Krichbaum.
Helsinki, 06 March-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs and European Integration, Igor Luksic met with the Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Erkki Tuomioja in Helsinki. During the
meeting, they have discussed progress that Montenegro has made in
the integration processes, as well as bilateral relations and regional
developments. Minister Tuomioja emphasized that Finland is a strong
promoter of the open door policy when it comes to the EU enlargement process, with consistent fulfillment of the prescribed conditions
and criteria for membership. In this context, he said that results that
Montenegro has achieved in the process of European integration are
positive and expressed readiness of Finland to provide expert and
other assistance in meeting the obligations posed before Montenegro
within the European agenda, as was the case with other candidate
countries. During his stay in Helsinki, Deputy Prime Minister Luksic
met with the Head of the Committefor EU Affairs of the Finnish Parliament, Miapetra Kumpula-Natri.
Oslo, 8 March - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs and European Integration, Igor Luksic met with the Norwegian
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide in Oslo. In their disucssions they
focused on Montenegrin integration into European and Euro-Atlantic
structures, strengthening of bilateral relations, and stronger cooperation in multilateral terms. Minister Eide said that the two countries have
very good and traditionally friendly relations, and underlined that
he appreciates very much the success of Montenegro in the reform
processes. He expressed full support of Norway to the further EuroAtlantic and European aspirations of Montenegro. During his stay in
Norway, Deputy Prime Minister Luksic had a meeting in the headquarters of Telenor, with the Executive Vice-President of the Telenor
Group, Morten Karlsen Sorbi, and with the Manager for strategy and
regulatory issues and other members of company management.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and
European Integration Igor Luksic met with the Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Sweden Carl Bildt
Stockholm, 05 March - Montenegro opened the accession negotiations and focuses on Chapters 23 and 24. This must be the basis for all the rest - work on some very important issues,
such as organized crime and economic development, the issues that are important for the
whole Western Balkan region, said the Swedish Foreign Minister Karl Bilt, following his meeting with our Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Igor Luksic in Stockholm.
Minister Bilt confirmed once again Swedish support to the European integration process with
regard to our country, as well as the whole Western Balkan region. Deputy Prime Minister
Luksic has also met with the Minister for European Union Affairs Birgitta Ohlsson. In this
meeting it was emphasized that with the “consistent implementation of reforms during this
year, Montenegro can achieve significant progress and take advantage of this positive attitude towards enlargement policy”.
16
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
Igor Lukšić made the first official visit to Croatia
Zagreb, 19 February - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Igor Luksic paid his first official visit to Croatia, where he met with the Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Josip Leko. Luksic
has also met the Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia and Minister of Foreign and European
Affairs Vesna Pusic. They have signed the Cooperation Agreement regarding economy
and tourism. Senior officials in Croatia have said that this country strongly supports integration of Montenegro into EU and NATO and that they are pleased to see the progress
made, as well as the dynamics of these integration processes in Montenegro.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER LUKSIC MET WITH
THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF
MACEDONIA NIKOLA POPOSKI
Skopje, 14 February - Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs and European Integration Igor
Luksic met with the highest Macedonian officials in Skopje - the President
of the State Djorje Ivanov, the Prime
Minister Nikola Gruevski, and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola
Poposki. During his first official visit
to Macedonia, it was noted that
Montenegro and Macedonia foster partnership relations in the integration processes and
good cooperation at all levels, emphasizing that in the future it is necessary to strengthen
it further within regional initiatives. It was also stated that the existing level of economic
cooperation of Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia is lower than possible and
the possibilities to strengthen this cooperation were discussedat this occasion.
SANTIAGO: PARTICIPATION IN THE
SUMMIT CONFIRMS THAT MONTENEGRO
IS A RESPONSIBLE PARTNER TO THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
SantIago 26-27 January - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
and European Integration Igor Luksic participated in Santiago in the Summit of the
Heads of States and Governments of the European Union and the Community of
Latin American and Caribbean states. There were 60 leaders from various countries in this Summit, including the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Prime
Minister of France Jean-Marc Ayrault, the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy,
the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the
European Commission, Jose Manuel Baroso, Presidents of Brasil, Argentina, Mexico
and other countries. Montenegro was invited for the first time to participate in this
Summit, in which one of the topics was “Alliance for Sustainable Development:
Promotion of Quality Social and Environmental Investments”. The main goal of
this year’s summit was to build a strategic alliance for sustainable development and
create a political, economic and energy related integration scheme, while strengthening at the same time development, growth and poverty reduction efforts.
17
Prime Minister of
Montenegro attended
the Munich Security
Conference
Munich, 1-3 February - Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, participated in the
Munich Security Conference, the most important
security forum in the world, organized since 1963.
The Munich Conference was a good opportunity
to present the results that Montenegro achieved in
the process of European and Euro-Atlantic integration and in the implementation of the overall reforms. The conference hosted over 300 statesmen,
and Prime Minister Djukanovic had many sideline
bilateral meetings.
During the Munich Security Conference, Prime
Minister Djukanovic, had sideline meetings
with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovakia, Miroslav Lajcak, and the President of the European
Investment Bank, Werner Hoyer. Prime Minister
Djukanovic has also met with the President of
Croatia, Ivo Josipovic, the Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Defense of Israel, Ehud Barak, Ministers of Foreign Affair of Russia, Sergey Lavrov,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Buglaria, Nikolay
Mladenov, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Kosovo, Enver Hoxhaj, US Senator John McCain,
as well as members of the German Bundestag,
Deputy Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary
group for Foreign Affairs, Affairs of the European
union and Policy - Andreas Schockenhoff, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee - Gunther
Krichbaum, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Committee, Rupreht Polenc, and MP representing
CDU/CSU, Roderih Kaiseveter.
Prime Minister government Milo Djukanovic visited
the United Arab Emirates
PRIME MINISTER MILO
ĐUKANOVIĆ PAID
AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO
BRUSSELS
Brussels, 21 January - Montenegro, currently the leader in European integration
in the Western Balkan region, “definitely
has a European future”, and “opening of
accession negotiations with Montenegro
represents an important signal to the
whole region that doors to the EU are
open”. Senior EU officials - the President
of the European Council, Herman van
Rompuy, and the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Baroso,
confirmed this in their meetings with
Milo Djukanovic, the Prime Minister of
Montenegro. This was an opportunity to
inform the European Commission about
the efforts made by the Government in
18
Montenegro in preparing the negotiation
structures to make sure that this final stage
in the process of EU accession of Montenegro is a dynamic and quality one. “I am
impressed by the speed with which you
have closed the first chapter, related to science and research. Quality is much more
important than speed, and speed mostly
depends on the work done by Montenegro. Our experience with other countries
shows that this involves difficult reforms political, economic and social ones. Prime
Minister Djukanovic explained this very
clearly - some of these reforms should
have taken place independently from the
EU accession process; I believe that they
are in the European interest, but primarily in the interest of Montenegro” - said
Baroso, concluding that EC is satisfied with
the progress made by our country in terms
of commitment expressed by the Montenegrin authorities.
Abu Dhabi, 12-15 January - Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic visited the United Arab Emirates and participated in the Assembly of the International Renewable
Energy Agency. He was also a guest at the opening of
the World Future Energy Summit.
Political relations between Montenegro and the United
Arab Emirates are very good and create a sound basis
for improvement of our cooperation in all areas of
mutual interest. This was concluded in the meeting
between the Prime Minister of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic and the Deputy Prime Minister of Abu Dhabi,
Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, met
with the President of the Federation of Chambers
of Commerce of UAE, Mohamed Thani Al Rumaithi and numerous businessmen. Delegation of the
Government of Montenegro held a presentation of
investment potential of Montenegro in the Abu Dhabi
Chamber of Commerce, which gathered numerous businessmen and investors from this country interested
in investing in the Montenegrin projects.
Prime Minister Djukanovic held numerous bilateral
19
meetings on the side of the Assembly in Abu Dhabi,
inter alia, with the General Director of the International
Renewable Energy Agency, Adnan Amin, who visited
Montenegro last year; with Sultan Al Jaber, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate Change, and Director of MASDAR Company, who has also expressed an
interest in establishing cooperation with Montenegro.
Prime Minister Djukanovic has also met the Minister of
Energy and Industry of Qatar, Mohammed bin Saleh Al
Sada. Possibilities for cooperation in various areas, particularly tourism and connections with the Middle East
market, were the subject matter of discussion between
Prime Minister Djukanovic and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Albania, Edmond Panariti.
During the Summit, Prime Minister Djukanovic had a
sideline meeting with the French President, Francois
Hollande, the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad
binJasim bin Jaber Al Thani, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of UAE, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler
of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan and the President
of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga.
European
Ministryr ofintegration
Foreign Affairs and European Integration
Successful european year behind us,
impetus for new integration victories
Amb. Aleksandar Andrija PEJOVIC
State Secretary-Chief Negotiator
for Negotiations over Montenegrin
Accession to EU
1.
a
Starting from the premise that
EU integration is the project of
entire society we have created
one new ambience and model
which enabled complete
transparency, quality exchange
of views and participation of all
social subjects in negotiating
process.
t the Intergovernmental conference
on June 29, 2012 Montenegro officially started process of accession negotiations with European Union. By
summing up results from the first year of negotiations, we can be completely satisfied with
achieved results and we can say that we set up
solid fundaments for new European successes.
First of all, we have defined European integration as not only foreign policy priority of Montenegro, but as common interior task and goal
whose realization will provide benefit for all
our citizens. Starting from the premise that EU
integration is the project of entire society we
have created one new ambience and model
which enabled complete transparency, quality
exchange of views and participation of all social
20
subjects in negotiating process. This high quality participative model created positive synergy
effect; it strengthened interior capacities through
consolidation of knowledge, experience, expertise and energy. Apart from giving new quality
to the entire process, it turned out to be good
exercise for the job which is waiting for us and
for facing with challenges to which we have to
answer successfully and in quality manner.
The first year of negotiations was marked by formation of the negotiating structure that is made
up of 1300 persons and meetings of explanatory
and bilateral screening that were held since March 2012 to June 28, 2013. The screening helped
understanding play of state in all areas as well
detecting the greatest institutional, legal and investment challenges for Montenegro.
Particular success of Montenegrin administration and entire society in previous year
is represented by provisional closure of two
chapters 25 Science and Research and 26
Education and Culture only several months
after official opening of negotiations. The
other also important success is finalization
and adoption of the Action Plans for chapters 23 and 24, which are preconditions for
opening negotiations in these areas. These
successes are confirmation of devoted work,
good results and stimulus for even better
continuation.
In the second year of negotiations we are
carrying on with the reforms aimed at further
political and democratic stability, creation
of ambience that would enhance economic
growth and development of life standard of
Brussels, April 15, Opening and provisional closure of the
Chapter 26. Education and Culture
our citizens and that would have concrete positive effects in all areas.
Apart from the work on harmonization of
home legislation with European regulations
in all areas and its adequate implementation,
focus will be on further strengthening our administrative capacities and establishment of
new institutions.
Membership in the Union opens many possibilities, but we should be prepared for them in
time by strengthening own capacities, setting
up expertise through improvement of requested knowledge, skills and capabilities, by
strengthening competitiveness and quality raise. Therefore accession negotiations should be
understood as mechanism that would prepare
us gradually for the rules of European Union.
21
Overview of what we should realize in the period before accession in all areas, with clearly
defined holders of responsibility, deadlines
and financial assets which have to be set aside
will be given in the National program of accession. This document should be finalized until
the end of this year and it will represent our
guideline on EU membership.
The fact is that accession process does not
represent new thing and huge challenge for
Montenegrin society. We have made the first
steps successfully, we have learnt many lessons. From our experience and experience of
others we have drawn morals. Today we are
richer for a year long experience and we are
more prepared to accept new European tasks.
European
i
n June 2012, Montenegro officially started
process of negotiations over EU accession.
In the first year of negotiations good fundaments were set up for challenges that will
come up in the following years and that will
transform Montenegro into society we want. In
that first year a huge job was done in terms of
consolidation of negotiating process, negotiating
structure was completed and detailed analysis of
the level of harmonization of Montenegrin legislation with EU acquis was carried out.
Nevertheless, the success did not come alone. It
was based on devoted, responsible, professional
and comprehensive work, as well as on adequate
planning and good coordination of overall work.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European
Integration is carrying out these activities. The
Secretariat of negotiating group makes particular
part of the Ministry and in the same time of negotiating structure, whose members are in charge of coordination of tasks which are results of
negotiations over Montenegro’s accession to EU,
preparation of the analytical review of harmonization of Montenegrin legislation with EU acquis,
preparation of reports during negotiations, technical preparation for the work of working groups
for negotiations according to individual chapters,
technical preparation of proposals of negotiating
positions and preparation of the meetings of the
State Delegation and negotiating group.
The Secretariat was formed in February 2012
by the Decision establishing structure for negotiations over Montenegro’s accession to EU.
Today this team is comprised of nineteen young
people who are in charge of coordination of
task and who take care of efficacy of the work of
the working groups. These are Milivoje, Tatjana,
Damir, Milena, Marko, Zorka, Melita, Velimir,
Srđan, Amina, Sanja, Đorđe, Ana, Vladana, Mitar, Miodrag, Jelena, Milena and Aleksandar.
material and organizing meetings in Montenegro and Brussels. Although negotiating structure is comprised of 1300 experts from all social
areas, good organization and coordination of
tasks enable better, more quality and efficacious realization of the work. Therefore the role of
the Secretariat is very important. Concretely, it
implies daily communication with the European Commission and home participants in negotiating process and coordination of activities, a
lot of read material, prepared information and
presentations, organized meetings, notes, telephone calls, mails, instructions, theses and a lot
of other things.
The screening meetings in Brussels during last
year represented additional experience for secretaries which brought new contacts, joint
work with the colleagues from other sectors
and civil society which was in the same time
unique opportunity for them to find out and learn new things, and to widen their working and
life experience. Also the first results came up –
opening and provisional closure of negotiating
chapters 25 Science and research and 26 Education and Culture.
The Secretariat of negotiating group through
hard work, strong motivation and commitment
is striving to the vision of modern, prosperous,
European Montenegro as realistic, attainable
goal. We have finalized successfully the first year
of negotiations, but some more demanding negotiating phase is ahead. Negotiating structure
can expect new challenges on European way –
for the Secretariat of negotiating group it means
finalization of reports on chapters and work on
negotiating positions. The Secretariat is aware
of coming obligations and it will try to respond
to them in the most efficacious manner, as it has
been so far.
Editorial team
Secretaries of the working groups are coordinating work of 33 working groups by preparing
22
Secreteriat of negotiating group
Milivoje Jurišić
Secretary of the Negotiating
Group
Tatjana Tomić
Secretary RG 1, 6
Damir Šabanović
Secretary RG 2, 19
Milena Biro
Secretary RG 3, 4, 5
Marko Mrdak
Zorka Kordić
Secretary RG 9, 17
Melita Rastoder
Velimir Šljivančanin
Secretary RG 11, 13
Srđan Ćetković
Secretary RG 12
Amina Bajrović
Secretary RG 14, 21
Sanja Radović
Secretary RG 15, 27
Đorđe Janković
Secretary RG 16, 29
Ana Tomković
Secretary RG 18
Vladana Mitrović
Secretary RG 20, 33
Mitar Đurović
Secretary RG 22
Miodrag Radović
Secretary RG 23, 24
Jelena Leković
Secretary RG 30
Milena Šofranac
Secretary RG 31
Aleksandar Nikčević
Secretary RG 32
23
The Secretariat was formed in February 2012
by the Decision establishing structure for
negotiations over Montenegro’s accession to EU.
Today this team is comprised of nineteen young
people who are in charge of coordination of task
and who take care of efficacy of the work of the
working groups. These are Milivoje, Tatjana,
Damir, Milena, Marko, Zorka, Melita, Velimir,
Srđan, Amina, Sanja, Đorđe, Ana, Vladana, Mitar,
Miodrag, Jelena, Milena and Aleksandar.
European
European
integration,
project of
entire society
a
fter the European Council had given
‘’green light’’ to Montenegro for initiation of negotiations, the Government
started with intensive preparations
for accession process in January 2012. From
the very beginning, the Government was committed to open and inclusive approach which
included, apart from informing and dialog,
involvement of representatives of civil society in negotiating structure, After the first year
was successfully finalized, we can say that this
mechanism turned out to be productive and
contribution to the quality of leading process.
Apart from quality cooperation within negotiating structure and joint work on areas which are
subject of negotiating chapters, through realization of a number of projects, good cooperation
with regard to informing citizens about Montenegrin EU accession process has been realized
as well.
Committed to make accession process as transparent as possible and to explain to citizens
what EU membership brings, and what challenges Montenegro has to face successfully on
its way to full and equal membership, MFA’s
municipalities with the purpose of improving
informing of citizens about the accession process was organized.
Nada VojvodIC
- Advisor at the office Chief Negotiator for
Negotiations over Montenegrin Accession to EU
representatives organized and participated in a
number of consultations with interested parties with the purpose of introducing them to the
current process, EU requests in specified areas,
as well as to the role and contribution that they
can give with their involvement in the process.
Also, within the project that was implemented
by the partner NGOs in cooperation with the
Delegation of European Union in Montenegro,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European
Integration and local self-governments, informative campaign in almost all Montenegrin
In 2013 there have been several similar projects
that have been implemented by FORS Montenegro, the Center for Civil Education and Eco
Center Dolphin. These projects are Let’s talk
about EU, EU info bus and EU means YES within
which participants of the project visited nine
northern, six central and six southern municipalities.
Numerous activities were realized including
sequence of workshops and lectures for pupils
of primary and secondary schools, students,
organizations of civil society, unemployed, debates and other promotional activities contributing to the promotion of the values of European Union, understanding European policies,
the process of European integration as well as
challenges and benefits that result from the future EU membership.
Apart from that, in organization of these three
NGOs, the Ministry, EU delegation and local
self-governments, celebration of the Europe
Day was organized in Plav, Berane, BijeloPolje,
Podgorica and Herceg Novi. These events were
occasion for presentation of benefits from EU
membership and for conversation about fundamental reforms which are ahead, about current
projects, future needs and possible challenges.
During celebration day information boothswere set up where citizens could get information
about European Union and preparation of
Montenegro for membership. Apart from informative booths, knowledge quizzes for primary
school pupils, creative workshops, competition
in football, table tennis and basketball, exhibition of drawings were organized and present
citizens were addressed by officials who were
attending celebration.
Good cooperation with the Academic Community did not leave out. Representatives of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration participated in lectures that were held at
the Faculty of Political Sciences, Faculty of Law,
Faculty for State and European Studies, Faculty
of Economy in BijeloPolje and University ‘’DonjaGorica’’. Also, they participated in conferences and panels organized by the European Movement in Montenegro, Centre for Democratic
Transition and the Center for Democracy.
Particular contribution to dissemination of information and involvement of huge number
Important contribution to
transparency of the process was
given by good cooperation with
media which were following all
our European events and which
enabled Europe to enter every
home making accession process
closer to citizens.
of subjects in the process was given by the
Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, Union
of Employers and Community of Municipalities
that hosted several gatherings on various topics
whose aim was to spotlight different aspects
of the accession process, such as environment
protection, harmonization of legislation of economy societies with the EU acquis, participation and contribution of business sector and local
self-governments in the accession process.
Important contribution to transparency of the
process was given by good cooperation with
media which were following all our European events and which enabled Europe to enter
every home making accession process closer to
citizens.
Cooperation between state administration and
civil sector turned out to be good approach in
the process of negotiations leading which resulted in creation of positive synergy of entire
society and in strengthening partnership and
cooperation. Also it helped to perceive European integration as our joint task and objective,
to perceive obligations on that way not as something which is imposed from outside, from
Brussels, but as our interior need, something on
which we should work together with a view to
build up better society.
Europe Day, Herceg Novi, May 10, 2013.
24
Europe Day, BijeloPolje, May 9, 2013.
Europe Day, Podgorica, May 9, 2013.
25
European
Working breakfast with media, June 28, 2013.
How did we prepare
Action Plans for
Chapters 23 and 24?
m
ontenegro is the first country that
is subject to the so-called “new
approach” in the EU accession
negotiations, which means that
Chapters 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental rights,
and Chapter 24 – Justice, Freedom and Security
are the first ones to be opened for negotiation
and the last ones to close. In that respect, the European Commission decided, even prior to the
official opening of negotiations, to implement
the screening process and check the level of harmonization of the national legislation with the
EU AcquisCommunautiare regarding these two
chapters.
In accordance with this decision of the European Commission, on 8 March 2012, the
Government of Montenegro established Working Groups for preparation of negotiations
regarding these two chapters of the acquis and
appointed members of the Negotiation Team
for these two chapters. Working Group for
Chapter 23 consists of 49 members, and the
Working Group for Chapter 24 consists of 38
members. Active participation in Working Groups 23 and 24 is granted to the representatives
of all social structures- the academia and the
civil sector.
Miodrag RadoviC,
Secretary of the Working Groups
for Chapters 23 and 24
Action Plans for all areas covered by these two chapters. Thus, the drafting of Action Plan for each one of these Chapters
has started, whereas the Action Plan for
Chapter 23 was divided into three parts
(judiciary, anti-corruption and fundamental rights), and the one for Chapter
24 was divided into 10 areas (migration,
asylum, visa regime, external borders and
Schengen, judicial cooperation in criminal
and civil matters, police cooperation and
fight against organized crime, fight against
terrorism, cooperation related to fight against drug smuggling, customs cooperation
and forging of Euro).
Upon receipt of the official invitation to draft
these action plans, the working groups started
their intensive activities. They have defined
methodology of work regarding these documents. Recommendations contained in
the Screening reports were taken directly as goals of these action plans.
Measures in the action plans were designed so as to meet the recommendations contained in the Screening
Intensive activities regarding Chapters 23 and 24
are evidenced by the fact that over 300 meetings
were held at the level of working groups, coordinators
in consultation with the EC or with experts, during
missions to Montenegro.
26
- Long-term priorities include measures that will
be implemented in the period 2017-2019 and
they are defined at a semi-annual level.
Connection and harmonization of the Action
Plans with the strategic documents of Montenegro was achieved by harmonizing all the
measures contained in the action plans with
the measures from the national strategic documents in Montenegro.
Indicators are defined for each individual measure, in order to make the monitoring of implementation of the Action Plan easier, both in
quantitative and qualitative terms. Where possible, two types of indiciators were set: results
indicators and impact indicators. This is aimed
at projecting clear results, which will also allow
us to note concrete impact on the improvement
of the standard of work or the overall situation
in the specific field.
The deadlines are defined for implementation
of each individual activity. In that context, priorities have also been set for implementation of
these activities, according to the following
schedule:
Following the screening process, the European Commission prepared a report
and submitted it to Montenegro on 23
December 2012, with the invitation letter
of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU, which
defines as an opening benchmark for these two chapters development of detailed
The Explanatory Screening for Chapter 23 was
held on 26-27 March 2012, while the Bilateral
one took place on 30-31 May 2012. As for Chapter 24, the Explanatory Screening took place on
28-30 March 2012, while the Bilateral Screening
was held on 23-25 May 2012.
Reports. Activities consist of concrete steps within each individual measure, which are taken
in order to implement the respective measure.
- Short-term priorities - include
activities that will be implemented
in the period 2013-2014, and they
are defined at a monthly level;
- Mid-term priorities include
measures that will be implemented in the period 20152016, and they are defined at
a quarterly level;
27
Result indicatos monitor implementation of a
specific activity up to the level of full harmonization with the EU acquis or standards in the
respective field.
Impact indicators assess the level of implementation of the new standards with regard to citizens and all other stakeholders.
For example, the indicator when it comes to
amendments to the existing or adoption of a
new law is not the adoption of the legal text
NATO
itself (result indicator), but, if possible, statistical
data on the implementation of the law, reports,
research, etc, that is, measurable data that demonstrate the changes that took place in the
society (impact indicator).
The existing projects implemented through IPA
I represent the basis for definition of timelines in
the Action Plans. In such a context, implementation of measures defined in the Action Plans
depends on the dynamics of implementation of
projects through IPA. The same approach will
be applied for the activities that will be financed
through IPA II (2014-2020).
For each individual measure an institution has
been defined as a responsible authority for its
implementation. In case of measures that require involvement of several institutions and crosssector cooperation, the responsible institution
is the one that is assigned the duty to coordinate
and lead the activities, while other institutions
are there to support it in achieving the highest
quality in the implementation stage.
The Action Plan defines funds necessary for implementation of the projected measures, whereas it should be mentioned that the main source of finance will be the Budget of Montenegro.
Having in mind that implementation of certain
measures requires expert support, it is planned
to hire foreign experts through the TAIEX
support mechanism. As the implementation of
particular measures requires significant financial assets, potential sources of finance could be
potential donations from international organizations or EU member states through projects
and bilateral agreements, as well as through
application for financing through IPA II programming 2014-2020. Priority activities in this
Action Plan are fully compatible with the priority activities for financing through IPA II.
Intensive activities regarding Chapters 23 and
24 are evidenced by the fact that over 300 meetings were held at the level of working groups,
coordinators in consultation with the EC or with
experts, during missions to Montenegro.
The European Commission has also provided
support and we have had regular and constructive communication with it. Thus, via TAIEX, in
March of this year, experts from the EU member
states for each sub-area covered by the action
plans have visited Montenegro and together
with the Montenegrin colleagues have worked
on improving the text of the action plans.
In order to assess the situation in practice and to
give concrete advice for further improvement of
the action plans, in April of this year, there were
7 expert missions organized with regard to these two Chapters. When it comes to Chapter 23,
missions were organized in the field of judiciary,
anti-discrimination, repression and prevention
of corruption, and for Chapter 24 - in the field of
external borders; fight against organized crime;
and asylum and migrations.
To make the process of development of these
action plans as transparent as possible, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
published the action plans, so that the interested
public can get involved and support these efforts
with its suggestions and comments. In relation to
that, on 20 May 2013, a consultative meeting was
held with the representatives of the civil sector,
international organizations and other interested
parties, to discuss possibilities for further improvement of the action plans. Working groups have
analyzed all comments and suggestions and they
were incorporated in the text of the action plans
to a significant extent.
After 6 months of intensive work, the Government of Montenegro adopted the action
plans for Chapters 23 and 24, at its session held
on 27 June 2013. Following the adoption of
these action plans, the stage of implementation
of measures will follow, together with the monitoring and reporting activities.
Working group is responsible for monitoring
28
and reporting on implementation of the obligations defined in the action plans, as well as one
member of the Negotiation Group, the Chief
Negotiator, the Negotiations Collegium and
the Government of Montenegro. Monitoring
of action plan implementation involves appointment of a coordinator for specific fields in the
action plan. These coordinators will cooperate
directly with the focal points from the authorities responsible for implementation of the
projected activities and will obtain information
from them regarding al the issues relevant for
implementation of these measures. This means
that there will be a person responsible for reporting on implementation of particular measures.
Every three months, contact persons will report
to coordinators in the Working Group, and on
the basis of that information, coordinators will
prepare a semi-annual report on implemented
activities. That six-month report is approved by
the Head of the Working Group and member of
the Negotiation Group, and after that it is sent
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European
Integration. Then the report is adopted by the
Government and presented to the European
Commission. Besides data on implemented
measures, the report will also contain data regarding possible difficulties in their implementation and reasons for failing to meet the obligations defined in the Action Plan.
In order to consistently observe the letter from the
EU Presidency and the EC Screening Report, and
to adapt the Action Plan to the dynamic process
of development of national legislation and EU
acquis in the areas covered by Chapters 23 and
24, it is planned to review the Action Plan after
two years, in order to give more details for implementation of mid-term measures (2015 – 2016),
as well as details for the long-term measures
(2017 and onwards). This will be an opportunity
to look into the results of the previous stage of
implementation, the real impact of measures that
were implemented and their effects.
Montenegro
assumed presiding over
US-Adriatic
Charter (A5)
u
S-Adriatic Charter has been confirmed as important forum and instrument for strengthening regional
cooperation and channeling EuroAtlantic aspirations of the South East Europe
region. Interconnection of the states within
the Charter undoubtedly plays very important
role in the region and is inseparable from other
activities which have been undertaken by the
Western Balkans countries in order to become
NATO member states.
1
According to US-Adriatic Charter , the Ministers of three states of South East Europe
– Croatia, Albania and Macedonia signed in
Tirana on May 2, 2003 in presence of USA
Secretary of State Colin Powell the Adriatic
Charter. The Charter has envisaged trilateral
cooperation with the purpose of fulfilling conditions for NATO membership. By the Charter
the NATO has been invited to evaluate the
progress of three countries according to indiThree Baltic States, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, USA - sponsored,
initiated regional cooperation in order to accelerate reform in the
defense field, improve stability in the region and accelerate NATO
integration by sharing experience
Ljiljana JANKOVIC,
Director of Directorate for NATO
Plans and significance of
Montenegro’s presiding over A5
For the second time, Montenegro has been presiding over A5 since July 1 to December 2013.
Montenegro took over presidency from Macedonia at the meeting of the Partner Commission on
June 18 in Skoplje. Regular meetings of political directors of MFA and defense Ministries as well as
the meetings of the Partner Commission A5 in the format of Foreign and Defense Ministers will be
organized within Montenegrin presidency.
Our focus remains on strengthening cooperation within the Initiative. This implies continuation of
contribution to global safety and further progress of their members to NATO membership. During its
presidency, Montenegro is planning to organize several thematic seminars. Seminar on role of women
in creation of integrity and promotion of good practice in defense and security sector is planned to be
organized in September. In October we want to devote ourselves to discussion about the best manners
for implementation of communication strategy and the role of public diplomacy in the process of
Euro-Atlantic integration. With assistance of our NATO contact Embassy of Slovenia, we are planning to
organize study visit with the purpose of acquainting ourselves with the best practice in implementation
of partner goal: ’’Stabilisation and reconstruction – inter-sector cooperation’’
Montenegro devotes particular attention to strengthening cooperation in wider regional context.
In these terms, we want to organize meetings of Foreign Ministers of A5 countries with the
countries of US-Baltic Charter. The goal is promotion of cooperation and exchange of views and
ideas between two Charters. We would take this opportunity for conversation about cooperation
with the partners of both Charters: Serbia, Kosovo, Slovenia and Georgia.
29
By the Charter the NATO has been invited to evaluate the progress of three countries according to individual
achievements of each signatory state. The document has put accent on strengthening democracy and democratic
institutions, civil society, rule of law and protection of human rights and freedom, market economy and NATO
compatible military force, suppression of terrorism, cross border crime and mass destruction weapons. The Charter
stimulates initiated reforms of armament forces in three countries and their mutual military cooperation.
Previous Montenegro’s
presiding over A5
The A5 Meeting,Skoplje, June 18.
Montenegro presided over US-Adriatic Charter for the first time in the period between
January-June 2011. Within Montenegrin presidency a number of meetings and
seminars were organized at political and military level. The main realized activity was
dispatch of one joint regional team to Afghanistan within ISAF as support for NATO
Training Mission). Slovenia also joined the A5 countries which ensured complete
regional participation and cooperation in this field. This Initiative confirmed once again
readiness of the countries of the region to provide, apart from individual engagement in
Afghanistan, joint support for the process of training of Afghanistan army, which NATO
recognized as vital element for the success of overall mission.
Also, participation of NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the
final meeting of the Partner Commission A5 in Budva represents huge success of
Montenegrin presiding which was the first time that Secretary General took part in
ministerial meeting within this forum.
Current moment in the process of
Montenegrin integration in NATO
vidual achievements of each signatory state.
The document has put accent on strengthening democracy and democratic institutions,
civil society, rule of law and protection of human rights and freedom, market economy and
NATO compatible military force, suppression
of terrorism, cross border crime and mass destruction weapons. The Charter stimulates initiated reforms of armament forces in three countries and their mutual military cooperation.
With accession of two new members – Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina – at the
meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Adriatic
Charter on December 4 2008 in Helsinki (that
was held in the margins of the OESC ministerial meeting), the Charter widened its activity
and was renamed A5. In this way, the idea
about regional interconnecting has been strengthened and possibility for inclusion of other
states of Western Balkans in the work of A5
30
has been opened when conditions for it are
met. Montenegro has actively participated in
all meetings since its admission to the Charter,
within which its importance for stability and
further economic growth of the region and
promotion of Euro Atlantic values of member
states were emphasized.
The Adriatic Charter established the Partner
Commission responsible for setting up political
Our focus remains on
strengthening cooperation
within the Initiative. This implies
continuation of contribution
to global safety and further
progress of their members to
NATO membership. During
presidency, Montenegro is
planning to organize several
thematic seminars. Seminar
on role of women in creation
of integrity and promotion of
good practice in defense and
security sector is planned to be
organized in September.
NATO and member states have already demonstrated that they appreciate the role
of Montenegro in the region, which shows importance that they give to stabilization
of Western Balkans. Joint statement from Chicago Summit was very important for
Montenegro because it unambiguously supported open door policy and tendency of
aspirants to membership on the basis of individual results. Therefore intensive activities
in cooperation with NATO and bilaterally, toward member states, are coming in order
to present results and point up advantages of Montenegro as future member. In this
context, this year Montenegro’s presiding over US-Adriatic Charter will be of particular
importance.
guidelines for international cooperation. The
meetings of this Commission are held once or
twice a year at the level of foreign ministers or
their assistants. A5 has three forums at the level of foreign ministers, defense ministers and
chiefs of staff.
10 year anniversery since the Adriatic Charter
was established has been marked this year.
Achievements in the last ten years, such as
NATO membership of Albania and Croatia,
admission of new states to the Adriatic Charter, joint contribution of the Charter members
31
to combat terrorism and clear commitment to
Euro-Atlantic and European integration, confirmed success of work and continuous progress of the Charter.
Character, range and level of activities that are
carried out within the Charter is very wide –
from the high level meeting, expert meetings,
to the military exercises with a number of participants. According to the range, cooperation
in the defense and security field is the most
comprehensive.
The media and
Ministryr of Foreign
Affairs and European Integration
NATO
The Role of Media in the
European Integration Process
be continuous, rather than organized as a
campaign. Citizens are not to be persuaded and recruited, but informed. And this
should be the mission of all the media in
Montenegro.
Isidora Sekulic Soc, journalist in RTCG
(Radio and TV of Montenegro)
i
f we know that Montenegrin membership of NATO Alliance represents
one of the foreign policy priorities and
goals and a state interest, then we should also know that success in reaching that
goal depends on adequate presentation of
this process to our public.
Citizens must know what NATO is, the
principles it is based upon, the benefits of
membership of this prestigious club, and
the possible shortcomings, too. And this is
already where the role of the media becomes necessary and very important, as the
media represent a link between the subject
and the object (NATO and the citizens).
In the period ahead, Montenegrin public
must obtain accurate, concise and objective information. Media presentation of
the Alliance and our path towards it must
The public broadcaster, as the umbrella media house, must accept special responsibility in this respect, and act in a professional
and clear manner. TV show NATO-INFO is
aimed at resolving any dilemmas citizens
may have regarding the North Atlantic Alliance. There are various ways to tackle this
issue: surveys, confronting different views,
reporting on experiences of other countries
that have gone down this path before us,
whose experiences may be valuable to us.
It is important to hear the views of diplomats, international and national officials,
renowned public figures, young people,
and citizens in general. In order to engage
in a wide dialogue, it is important to hear
the views of the opponents, as well, in order to see whether historic and emotional
reasons and events that took place in 1999
represent the only argument they use when
saying that they do not wish to see Montenegro as a member of the NATO family.
TV show NATO-INFO is short, designed as
a collage, comprised of several segments,
with permanent headings – news from
NATO, visit to Montenegrin towns, direct
interviews with citizens, representatives
of the municipal authorities, views of the
celebrities (sportsmen, actors, musicians,
32
students…), and short interviews with the
renowned interlocutors.
Besides this TV show, I think it is important to introduce another show of a debate type, something like an open studio, a
show that would last for 50 minutes or so
and in which the participants (international
officials, representatives of political parties,
the academia, university professors, economists, businessmen, NGO representatives)
would discuss various NATO related issues.
One episode could deal with NATO, as it
is becoming increasingly a political, and
only after that a military organization; its
security and political benefits; the second
episode could speak about economic benefits, increase in investments following
membership of the Alliance; then we could
tackle the humanitarian aspect, solidarity,
assistance provided during big snowfall in
Montenegro; military neutrality - whether
we have the capacity and the money for
that or whether the proper solution for us
is a collective security system; compatibility
between the European and Euro-Atlantic
integration processes, etc.
It is important to intensify the activities on
this issue and to work seriously, as if the
invitation to join the Alliance is to come tomorrow, so that we are ready for it, whenever it comes.
33
Economic
Ministryr ofdiplomacy
Establishing of
efficacious mechanism
of integrated economic
diplomacy
Biljana Scekic, Director General of the
Directorate General for Economic Diplomacy
and Cultural Cooperation
t
he Government of Montenegro adopted
the plan for development of economic
diplomacy which includes model of economic diplomacy and plan of activities
for this year.
The best example of importance of economic
diplomacy is recent selection of TAP project
for the pipeline which confirms adequacy of
commitment of the Government to define
economic diplomacy as one of its priorities,
due to the fact that among others, these activities of two ministries (MFAEI and ME) contributed to this strategic project over regional
initiative.
Therefore, recognizing importance, the Government by recent amendment to the De-
34
cree on Organization and Manner of Work of
State Administration, conveyed international
economic relations to competence of the
MFA, whereas new Rulebook on systematization and organization of MFAEI sets up
new sector for economic diplomacy.
In this way, conditions for establishing efficacious mechanism of integrated economic diplomacy with a view to realize coordination
35
Consultations of Ambassadors, July, 2013.
To achieve that it is necessary
to promote Montenegro
as brand and investment
destination on bilateral,
regional and global plan, which
is precondition for getting
results from the activities
related to promotion of export
and foreign investments.
and synergy of all institutions and organizations which make
part of that process were set up (e.g. state bodies, business
associations and particularly diplomatic and consular representations).
On the basis of analysis of experiences of other countries in
domain of economic diplomacy, the Government has chosen
model which implies integrated economic diplomacy at the
level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs such as Denmark and
Slovenia. Also, France has recently set up sector for economic issues in the MFA (in March 2013).
Activities of economic diplomacy will be on line, i.e. in function of the priorities of the Government directed to achievement of economic growth and creation of vacancies through
support for companies to participate in foreign markets and
to realize/increase export and for pulling business and foreign direct investments in Montenegro.
36
To achieve that it is necessary to promote Montenegro as
brand and investment destination on bilateral, regional and
global plan, which is precondition for getting results from
the activities related to promotion of export and foreign investments.
This is also confirmed by the results of research that was
carried out on the sample of 200 companies US Fortune 500,
showing that 72% of interviewee indicates strong connecti-
on between national image and purchasing foreign products
and services, adding concrete linkage between corporation
brand and national identity.
States have to improve constantly their brand due to the fact
that ‘’change of reality and context have to influence change
of perception’’. This refers particularly to transition countries and those in development being subjected to significant
changes and progress and which is not known enough.
37
In that context, in coming period, in cooperation with relevant institutions, significant activities will be realized regarding promotion of Montenegro as brand and investment
destination. Also, developmental projects such as energy
potentials, and our products will be presented in the best
possible way which will bring them closer and interest investors.
Economic
Ministryr ofdiplomacy
Montenegro
in the tap-iap
project corridor
Selection of TAP for transport of gas
from Azerbaijan represents good news
for Montenegro, as it is one of the basic
prerequisites for implementation of the
IAP pipeline, which is to be interconnected
with TAP pipeline in Albania. With the
implementation of TAP and IAP pipelines,
Montenegro will obtain access to gas, as
an environmentally acceptable and cheap
source of energy.
Tirana, signing of
Memorandum of
Understanding for support
and cooperation in
realization of Trans
Adriatic and Ionian Adriatic
Pipeline May, 2013.
d
eputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
and European Integration of Montenegro, Mr. Igor
Luksic, participated in the Joint meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline
(TAP) and Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) countries, held on 12
June of this year, in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Ministers from Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece and Italy have agreed that strong political
commitment and full support to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline will
contribute to further strengthening of regional energy stability,
which is important for the overall further development and
prosperity. They agreed that projects such as the Trans-Adriatic
Pipeline and the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline are compatible with
the interests of the Energy Community and the goals of the
European Union that involve diversification of transportation
routes, suppliers and sources of gas.
In Tirana, Albania, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro,
Mr. Igor Luksicsigned the Memorandum of Understanding
regarding support and cooperation in the implementation
of the Trans-Adriatic and Ionian-Adriatic Pipelines. This
document was signed by high representatives of the Governments of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Croatia, in the presence of former Prime Minister
of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Salli Berisa. This document
represents an international legal framework for political
support to the implementation of the aforementioned pipelines.
The Energy Strategy of Montenegro identifies IAP as the leading option for gasification of Montenegro. IAP represents not
only an opportunity for gasification of Montenegro, but also
an opportunity for Montenegro to sell its own gas, which we
expect to find in the Montenegro underwater. Without the gas
infrastructure to bring the Montenegrin gas closer to the impor-
38
tant gas market, it is impossible to speak about our commercial
findings.
of the possible options. The contract between TAP and Shah
Deniz is supposed to be signed by the end of this year..
The Energy Community Secretariatis currently working on the
Feasibility Study. Montenegro, more specifically the Ministry
of Economy participates intensively in the development of this
Study. In the development of the Feasibility Study, one of the
tasks is to select and reach an agreement on the possible route
of the pipeline through Montenegro.
Selection of TAP for transport of gas from Azerbaijan represents
good news for Montenegro, as it is one of the basic prerequisites for implementation of the IAP pipeline, which is to be interconnected with TAP pipeline in Albania. With the implementation
of TAP and IAP pipelines, Montenegro will obtain access to gas, as
an environmentally acceptable and cheap source of energy.
Besides, Montenegro signed the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation with the TAP Consortium, in order to
investigate the possibilities for development of the natural gas
market and increase and diversification of gas offer in South
East Europe (SEE).
Trans Adriatic Piplaneor TAP is 520 km long and will transport
natural gas from a huge gas field Shah Deniz in the Caspian
Sea, belonging to Azerbaijan, through Greece, Albania and the
Adriatic, to Southern Italy and furtheron to West Europe.
Shah Deniz Consortium, as a holder of right to produce gas
from the Shah Denis field in Azerbaijan, decided to transport
gas via TAP pipeline, giving it priority over Nabuko West, as one
TAP is a consortium of European energy leaders, such as EGL
from Switzerland, Statoil from Norway (each having 42.5% of
share capital) and E. ON Rurhgas from Germany, with 15% of
ownership.
39
The decision of the Shah Deniz Group to select TAP-IAP route
for transportation of natural gas from the big gas field Shah Deniz in the Caspian Sea to the European market is of great importance for Montenegro, primarily because it allows for natural
gas as an energy source to be introduced in our country.
This will also create the necessary prerequisites for gasification
of Montenegro, and our industry will have an opportunity to
use cheap energy source, which is also environmentally friendly. Naturally, regional pipeline and gasification of Montenegro
also involve significant new employment in the country.
Editorial team
Interview
Diplomarius,
Diplomarius,
avgust, august,
2013. godine
2013.
CROATIAN AMBASSADOR TO MONTENEGRO, IVANA SUTLIC-PERIC:
Montenegro
will be the next
country
to join NATO
In her interview for the first issue of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Magazine,
the Croatian Ambassador emphasized that “…the negotiation process represents an ideal manner to put
your own country and its institutions to use to fully serve the proclaimed goals of the state, thus ensuring progress for all of its citizens. Mrs. Peric believes that Montenegro is well prepared and will be the
next country to join NATO, i.e. that it will become a fully-fledged member at the first summit of the Alliance scheduled to deal with the enlargement issues.
What are Your first impressions of Montenegro, now
that you took over the position of the Croatian Ambassador from Mr. Turcinovic?
Mr. Turcinovic and I did not see each other when I took over
this duty, so I did not have an opportunity to hear from him
directly his experiences during his office in Montenegro. But,
as a diplomat, and prior to that a journalist, I was very interested in our region; surely, my understanding of the developments in Belgrade and in Skopje, where I held office in the
past forty years or so, would have been by far incomplete, or
incomprehensible, if I were not so interested in monitoring,
detecting and comparing the reflections of every significant
regional and global event on the events in the countries of
former Yugoslavia. Several months before, during and right
after the 2006 Referendum, as an Advisor for Politics and
Information in the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in
Belgrade, at the time in FRY, and later on in Serbia and Montenegro, I was sent to Podgorica, to witness this historical event – restoration of Montenegrin independence.
Due to that, I know what an advantage it is to assess
based on a first-hand experience what the situation
was like at the time, and what has changed in the
meantime or what has not changed. That is why
I have an advantage compared to many of my
colleagues in the diplomatic missions in Montenegro; it is only my colleague Frantisek Lipka
that I sometimes compete with, on a friendly
40
Ivana
Sutlic-Peric
note, about which one of us has closer ties to
Montenegro. It is a great honor and pleasure for
me to be in Montenegro again and to note the
progress that is visible with bare eyes. When I say
progress, I mean advancement in many aspects
of the infrastructure, all the way to social and political circumstances. I see that efforts were made
to improve, partially expand and reconstruct the
roads from Podgorica towards both north and
south, and I am truly happy to see that there are
serious possibilities to start with the construction of the Bar-Boljare Highway by the end of this
year. I hope that during my mandate in Montenegro the construction of the east-west highway
will also commence, making Montenegro even
more attractive for transit and tourism activities,
and even more profitable in
economic terms.
If you recall the situation in Croatia from the
beginning of the negotiation process, how do
you see the current situation in Montenegro?
Montenegro was faster and more skillful in entering the EU accession process. I don’t know if
the negotiations with Montenegro will be easier
than ours, but I know that during our negotiations, the focus of attention moved from political
issues to economic, energy and environmental
standards. Negotiations with Croatia were stopped a few times because of the developments
in the Hague Tribunal, or blocking of the process by neighboring Slovenia, and I am certain
that Montenegro will not experience that with
Croatia. I believe that all other EU member states also support Montenegro on its way to the
European Union. Surely, Montenegro the same
requirements will not be posed before Montenegro, or the same conditions that were posed
before Croatia in the negotiation process, but
from our experience that we are happy to share
with Montenegro, we can generally
conclude what it is that Brussels considers to be the minimum, or the optimum level
of harmonization of the national legislation with the EU
legislation.
What it is that Podgorica
should pay special attention to at this moment?
I have already said that today
economics, energy and environment are in the focus of not
only European, but global attention. Montenegro, as a declared
ecological state, will receive questions focusing on those issues.
I believe that environment will
be a very demanding and very
extensive chapter for Montenegro. As a Mediterranean
country, involved in fis-
41
hery, it will also receive questions regarding protection of the marine area and fish catch, that is,
it will have to deal with topics that ultimately involve economic sustainability. The speed of the
EU accession process depends on Montenegro
and its negotiation capacity and positioning, as
well as the adaptation to international, primarily
EU standards in the field of judiciary, as well as
its strong fight against corruption and organized
crime. I hope that suggestions that Zagreb can
offer to Podgorica regarding the mistakes we
have made in the negotiation process will be understood by all the segments of the Montenegrin
Ivana Sutlic-Peric took over the duty
of the Ambassador of Croatia to
Montenegro in September of last year,
replacing Petar Turcinovic in that position. She was born in 1950 in Zagreb.
Following her graduation at the Faculty of Philosophy, she worked briefly
in the education sector, as a high school teacher of philosophy and logic,
and then she moved on to journalism
that she got involved in as early as in
high school. For 25 years, as a HRT
journalist (HRT – Croatian Radio and
TV), i.e., as a reporter of Radio Zagreb,
i.e. Croatian Radio, from Belgrade. She
moved on to diplomacy in 2001, as
an Advisor for Politics and Media in
the Croatian Embassy in Belgrade, and
afterwards assumed a similar duty in
Skopje. She is married, mother of two
children. Her father, Vanja Sutlic, was
one of the greatest philosophers of
the 20th century among the Southern
Slovenes, and Ambassador Sutlic-Peric
says that “growing up with her parents
brought her immense happiness and
gave her a huge educational capital
and capital for life”.
society as an expression of respect and the best
neighborly intentions. I am certain that the negotiation process represents an ideal manner to
ensure that one’s own country and its institutions fully support the proclaimed national goals
and wellbeing of all its citizens.
Is it good that Montenegro will open the
most difficult negotiation chapters – 23 and
24 – among the first ones?
This is exceptionally good initiation of negotiations. Montenegro started preparations in
this field as soon as it signed the SAA, and two
chapters have also been provisionally closed by
now. The Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to the EU, Vladimir Drobnjak, who was the
Chief Negotiator in Croatia, feels that timely
opening of chapters 23 and 24 represents a capital advantage for Montenegro.
How will the Croatian accession affect Montenegrin citizens, especially the ones in the
bordering region when it comes to crossing
the state border?
Having neighbors who are slightly ahead of you
is a better position than if they were lagging
behind you. This, conditionally speaking, comparison of Croatia with Slovenia, Italy and
Hungary motivated our citizens to increase
their personal, family, social and professional
standards, adjusting them to the ones ahead of
them. When it comes to the bordering region,
there will be no novelties, essentially. The requirements are a bit stricter, it is no longer sufficient to have residence in the bordering region,
but you also need a valid reason to frequently
cross the state border: either permanent employment, or part of the family, or arable land as
a source of existence….
Which accession funds will now be available
to the Montenegrin citizens?
This question is somewhat related to the quality
Diplomarius,
Diplomarius,
avgust, august,
2013. godine
2013.
and direction of education. It is the issue of the
experts who are able to write projects and verbally well explain their intentions. Even in Croatia, with a bigger population than Montenegro,
it was difficult to find a sufficient number of interpreters and experts in this area. I am certain
that Montenegro will obtain useful advice whenever it asks for it, not only from Croatia, but
from other EU member states, as well. It is well
known that Poland is the most advanced one in
this respect. We, as neighbors, have the opportunity to apply for joint regional, Mediterranean
projects related to the protection of cultural and
historic monuments, archeological research,
conservation work… Naturally, this includes
participation in energy and infrastructure projects of a wider importance, as well.
The general public in Montenegro widely
supports integration into EU, while integration into NATO is supported by approximately 30 percent of the inhabitants only. To
what extent to the NATO and EU accession
processes overlap and how interdependent
are they?
On 1 July, when Croatia became an EU member
state, I was satisfied for three reasons. Namely,
on this date, Croatia fulfilled three of its strategic goals. First we became an independent country, then a NATO member, and finally an EU
member state. I have to say that in Croatia we
had a good campaign regarding NATO membership, that presented NATO not only as a
military alliance, but as a political-military alliance of the Western democracies. The advantage of this membership is joint defense system.
NATO gives its members an opportunity to live
in such a long-lasting period of peace. For Croatia, in which revenues from tourism represent
the most important budgetary item, just like in
Montenegro, NATO membership provided for
additional dimension of security, which is surely in the interest of every tourist. One should
also know that half of the world economy is in
the hands of the 28 NATO member states.
42
What is, in Your opinion, the main reason for
a relatively low support of the Montenegrin
citizens to NATO membership?
I believe that the campaign regarding NATO in
Montenegro is implemented without engaging in
a sufficient dialogue with those who oppose this
idea. The reasons against membership, in my opinion, are primarily of emotional nature. Montenegro
was part of the state union with Serbia at the time
of the NATO intervention and this is still somewhat
fresh. On one hand, people remember, or even
foster memories of these events, and the system
reminds them of the victims of bombing, and on
the other hand, everything is done to forget why
this has actually happened. What caused the NATO
intervention? I am sorry for the civilian victims who
lost their lives in this intervention, but I remember
very well that this could have been avoided.
Is it realistic to expect Montenegro to receive
invitation for membership at the next Summit?
All the information I have leads me to believe that
Montenegro will be the next country to join NATO
and that this will happen at the next Summit scheduled to deal with enlargement issues. I am not quite certain that in 2014 there will be an Enlargement
Summit organized, because the main topic will be
the election of the new Secretary General. I believe
that the size of Montenegro in this context is an advantage in joining the Alliance.
How do you see the position of the Croatian
minority in Montenegro?
I am pleased to see such a high level of allegiance to the country of origin, but also the loyalty
of the Croats to their homeland – Montenegro.
If it weren’t so, it would be hard for HGI to be a
political party with MPs in the Montenegrin Parliament and for its President to be a Government
member.
Interviewer:
Milan Zugic, Mina Agency journalist
43
Multilaterals
affairs
MA Zorica Maric djordjevic, Ambassador,
Permanent Representative of Montenegro to
the World Trade Organization and the Special
Representative of Montenegro to the United
Nations Human Rights Council
conomic policies that promote exchange
rate stability.
World trade organization
analyzed the challenges
of fast changing
nature of
world trade
Prospects for multilateral trade cooperation
Some of the main trends which will affect
world trade in the coming decades are the
emergence of international value chains, the
rise of new forms of regionalism, the growth
of trade in services, the greater incidence of
non-tariff measures, higher and more volatile
commodity prices, the rise of emerging economies, and evolving perceptions about the
link between trade, jobs and environment;
Trade opening, especially in the context of
non-tariff measures beyond WTO disciplines
is taking place outside of the WTO. It will be
necessary to introduce additional measures
for control and regulation of such protectionist measures;
f
indings of the World Trade Report for
2013 that was recently published by the
World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva show that the future of world trade
and the global trading system depends on the
shift in production and consumption patterns
and demographic change.
The most important World Trade Report findings for 2013 are as follows:
Trends in international trade:
In the last 30 years, trade in merchandise and
commercial services have increased by about
7% per year on average. Trade in merchandise reached a peak of $18 trillion and in services $4 trillion in 2011;
Between 1980 and 2011, developing economies raised their share in world exports from
34% to 47%, and their share in world imports
from 29% to 42%;
Interdependence of trading in commodities
and trading in services will grow;
Factors affecting international trade:
Investment in physical infrastructure can facilitate the integration of new players into international supply chains. The accumulation
of capital and the build-up of knowledge and
technology associated with investment, particularly foreign direct investment, can also
enable countries to move up the value chain
by altering their comparative advantage;
Increase in gas production portends dramatic
shift in the future pattern of energy production and trade as North America becomes
energy sufficient. Increasing water scarcity in
the future in large swathes of the developing
world may lead to a long-term decline in their
share of food and agricultural products in international trade;
Demographic change affects trade through its
impact on countries’ comparative advantage
and on import demand. An ageing population, migration, educational improvements and
women’s participation in the labor force will all
play a role in years to come, as will the continuing emergence of a global middle class;
Countries representing 20% of the world’s
total population accounted for about 70% of
research and development (R&D) expenditure
in 1999, but only about 40% in 2010. This is a
result of technological spill-over, which is largely taking place at a regional level and among
countries connected by production networks;
Ample opportunities exist for policy actions,
at the national and international level, to reduce transportation costs and offset the effect
of higher fuel costs in the future – improving
the quantity and quality of transportation infrastructure, introducing more competition on
transport routes and supporting innovation.
For the past few decades, world trade has
grown on average nearly twice as fast as
world production. This reflects the increasing
prominence of international supply chains
and hence the importance of measuring trade in value added terms;
44
Trade openness
Further reduction of employment and job
losses can force some governments to strengthen their efforts to use barriers to trade.
Still, previous experience shows that open
economies, with educated and well trained
workforce, business-friendly environment
and effective social protection system are
better placed to adjust successfully;
The expansion of trade needs to be supported by a stable financial and monetary
system – delivering a sufficient volume of
trade finance at an affordable cost, particularly for developing countries, and macroe-
45
Addressing these challenges will involve reviewing and possible expanding the WTO
agenda. Traditional market access issues
will not disappear but new issues, particularly with regard to non-tariff measures, are
emerging. Internal governance matters as
well as the role of the WTO in global governance may need to be addressed. An important issue will be how to “multilateralize” the
gains made in preferential trade agreements
and to secure regulatory convergence.
Multilaterals affairs
Region
“The Western
Balkans six + 2!”
i
n 2013, this Region witnessed several important events that lead to conclusion that these
countries are truly committed to the values
of Europe, and that these values are considered more carefully in the shaping up of their
own future. Republic of Croatia became a fullyfledged member of the Union, official Belgrade
and Pristina have reached an agreement on the
principles for normalization of their relations
and are working intensively on its implementation; and Montenegro, with the pace of its negotiations, maintains continuity of the European
integration process. These are more than sufficient arguments to conclude that this is a positive
moment in the development of this region and
that we should do everything we can to valorize
the achievements and support through our joint
efforts, the continuation of the stabilization and
association process. Deliberations and dialogue
of the foreign ministers of this region about ways
to improve our mutual relations have resulted in a
common view that we need to add new quality to
this approach. Montenegro is assigned the role of
initiator that could encourage all to enter a new,
more advanced stage. We offered our first draft of
the possible answers in the form of a Non Paper,
wanting from this early stage to play the role of
coordinator in the dialogue on possible solutions
in finding the best model of cooperation in the
Western Balkans.
of a meeting of political directors in mid July of
this year, in Montenegro, to discuss these issues
further. Although it is already an EU member state, the Republic of Croatia expressed its interest
to participate actively in this initiative, with the
intention to share experiences of successful EU
integration process with our countries, continuing
to foster partnership relations in this way, as well.
For that reason, the name of this initiative was
amended and carries a working title “Western
Balkans six+1” (WB6+1). Slovenia has also expressed its interest to be involved in the new regional
political project, as an observer.
Tamara MugoSa, Director of the
Directorate for neighboring countries,
Directorate General for bilateral
relations
successfully implement it and proposed the RCC
to be an “executor” of this initiative, remaining at
the same time the operational SEECP body.
At the meeting of the foreign ministers in Ohrid,
in late May of this year, the initiative received
unanimous general support, and the ministers
expressed their readiness to engage in further dialogue aimed at developing and defining further
this initiative. This was the basis for organization
Pržno, the Meeting of Political Directors (WB +1+1), July, 2013.
More precisely, the idea to give a new dimension
to cooperation in this Region was created in an
informal meeting of the foreign ministers, held
in April of this year in Strassbourg. Following that
meeting, Montenegro prepared the Non Paper,
as a starting point for dialogue between the participating countries. The EU Commissioner for
Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy
supported this document, stating that it comes in
the right time and focuses on fundamental issues
of regional development and progress in the integration process of all the potential participating
countries. Besides, in its support letter, the General
Secretariat of the Regional Cooperation Council
gave a set of constructive suggestions on how to
46
The key goal of the new concept of regional cooperation is faster European integration of each
participating country, with continuous observance of the EU policy that progress in this endeavor
will be measured based on the results achieved
by each individual country – i.e. according to the
benchmarking system. More strongly expressed
political will and stronger cooperation within
the Region, as compared to previous experience,
will give additional legitimacy to our individual
European aspirations and make them more convincing. On the other hand, we know that there
are already numerous regional structures and supra-national initiatives, out of which some are not
exactly purposeful, and that we need to avoid the
47
Bilateral
relations
trap of repetition and overlaps in our actions. Still,
this idea is the first one in a row that exclusively
belongs to the aspirants for EU membership, it
depends solely on them and creates space to start
thinking about a more advanced level of mutual
communication and cooperation, similar to the
already tested models in other regions.
The very fundament of the new concept is the
approach based on which responsibility for the
attainment of the aforementioned common strategic goal is in the hands of the countries themselves, and this responsibility is based on the ability
to generate integration within the respective social systems and adequate cooperation with other
member states of the initiative, aware that integration process carries within an immense reform
potential.
The Non Paper was drafted to represent the starting point and a wide platform for dialogue. In order to achieve closer, more substantive and more
regular cooperation between the participating
countries, this document proposes to analyze the
issues of a common interest at the level of Prime
Ministers and Foreign Ministers, believing that
success requires active participation and responsible action of senior political officials. Frequency
of these meetings would allow for continuity in
planning, implementation and evaluation of results annually. It is also projected to invite the EU
Commissioner for Enlargement and the RCC Secretary Generalto attend the ministerial meetings,
with the aim to ensure continuous transparency
and legitimacy of the communication and agreements reached within the EU and the SEE Cooperation Process. Consensus was proposed as a
decision-making model in order to strengthen
and deepen the dialogue on issues of a common
interest, and to reach a higher level of agreement
on the modalities for joint action.
WB6+1 is an idea that supports functional
approach, meaning that the dialogue should
focus on agreements regarding concrete activities
and projects, with defined implementers, accoun-
The key goal of the new concept
of regional cooperation is faster
European integration of each
participating country, with
continuous observance of the
EU policy that progress in this
endeavor will be measured based
on the results achieved by each
individual country – i.e. according
to the benchmarking system.
of a common interest include, inter alia: the need
for stronger parliamentary cooperation, establishment of pressure groups that would represent
the interests of the member states in the most
important foreign addresses and in international
organizations, the need for regional cooperation
and use of experiences of successful models of
regional cooperation, such as the cooperation
within the Visegrad Group, the Nordic Council
of Ministers, Benelux, etc. Our joint efforts to
strengthen the presence, impact and rating of the
member states in international terms and cooperation in addressing the most important global
issues represent an integral part of these topics.
tability, contents and timelines. Tasks defined in
this way require integration of efforts and resources, active role of the existing regional structures
and synergy with the South East European Cooperation Process and the Regional Cooperation
Council.
Agreeing the logic of the cooperation model within the initiative is a priority for our further dialogue, and in the months to come we have planned
to organize a meeting of the foreign ministers of
the seven participating states and to adopt the
first official documents of this new form of regional cooperation.
The leading components of the WB6+1 concept
represent the fundamental prerequisites for
better quality of life in the member states of this
initiative: balanced and long-lasting economic
development, long-lasting stability of the Region
and strong institutions, based on the rule of law,
in accordance with the goals of the RCC Strategy
2020.
In the Non Paper the attempt was made to identify the topics of a common interest: more efficient fight against corruption and organized crime,
better quality response to the negative effects of
the global economic crisis, need for a stable regional market, possibilities to appear in the third
markets, improved energy context, joint access
to fundsfor road infrastructure of regional importance, functional system of mutual payment
operations, greater employment and higher level
of occupational health and safety standards, greater mobility of commodities and people, quality
protection of minorities, more advanced form of
networking between scientists and educational
institutions, better social protection. Other topics
48
After the recently held meeting of the heads of
states in Brdo kod Kranja, and the announced
even stronger role of Croatia and Slovenia in the
further process of EU integration of the countries
of this Region, we can speak about the initiative
the name and format of which could be the Western Balkan six +2.
The inclusive character of this idea from its very
creation creates expectations that each of the countries of this Region, using the new framework
for mutual cooperation, will follow the path of
true qualitative change internally, in the spirit of
cooperation and partnership with its neighbors.
This would be a proof that the times of enrooted
stereotypes about the Western Balkans are left
behind.
Diplomacy of small countries in
conteporary diplomatic relations
d
iplomacy represents one of rare
professions which is at the same
time profession and pattern of life
style, style of conduct appropriate
for someone who is called diplomat. However the role of diplomacy and diplomats has
been changed through history. At the time
when the first diplomatic services had been
set up in XVI and XVII century it was considered that diplomat, someone who represented his sovereign in other state, had to be
expert in mathematics, physics, social law, to
speak fluently Latin, Greek, Spanish, French
and German, to have knowledge in theology, as well as to be familiar with the works
of Aristotle and Plato and to have taste for
poetry. Of course, with technological development of humanity, diplomatic profession
has been changed, and diplomats as well.
In the last twenty years diplomacy and diplomatic profession have lost certain attributes which had been characteristic for “classical” diplomacy. Effects of globalization, as
phenomenon of modern time, had great influence on development of diplomatic skill.
At the first place, a number of international
(governmental) organizations had been formed thus becoming subjects of international
law on which the states conveyed part of
their sovereignty. Also, with the increase of
role of media in creating home and international public opinion, diplomacy has ceased
to be exclusively confidential matter, which
had been one of its main characteristics. Di-
plomats are being specialized to be experts
in public relations, thus strengthening, over
public diplomacy, ‘’soft power’’ of its state
which turned out to be more efficient and
desirable than traditional, military ‘’hard
power’’.
Djordje RaduloviC
Attache
Directorate General for Bilateral Affairs
Debate that is being led, if
diplomats should be narrowly
specialized for certain areas
or their training should be
based on “generalization’’ i.e.
knowledge about all areas
– does not have the right
answer.
Modern ways of doing business and speed
of conveyance of information have simplified excessive ceremonial characteristic of diplomatic meetings, which have been formalized and they are more similar to business
meetings. Eventually, greater involvement
of the chiefs of state through summit diplomacy, as well as involvement of other state
bodies in foreign affairs has led to the situation that diplomatic profession does not have
a sole exclusivity over the field of international relations.
Debate that is being led, if diplomats should
be narrowly specialized for certain areas or
their training should be based on “generalization’’ i.e. knowledge about all areas – does
not have the right answer. Surely, Montenegro as small state, which makes its first independent ‘’diplomatic steps’’ cannot afford
comprehensive and diversified diplomatic
apparatus that would contain diplomat ‘’specialists’’, but training of diplomats should
include very wide spectrum of trainings in a
number of different areas.
Representing own interests abroad is traditional problem of small states which are for-
49
ced, due to scarcity of financial assets and of
diplomatic and administrative capacities to
maintain minimal number of diplomatic missions. Some of small states, such as Andorra
and Monaco accredit own ‘’huge’’ neighbors
France and Spain to represent their interests
abroad. Also during 60s of the last century
‘’’small’’ states tried to solve the problem of
representation by organizing joint diplomatic missions. This was particularly represented in some Caribbean countries as well
as in countries of Western Africa. However
system turned out to be unsuccessful due to
the fact that two or three countries having
formed joint mission could not agree on
election of the chief of the mission or they
had complaints that the chief favored inte-
The visit to Malta, June, 2013.
rest of one state neglecting the others.
Development of small technologies and
communication enable ‘’small’’ countries to
participate in international relations with relatively small expenses and without exaggerated administrative and diplomatic resources. Of course, the first step in presentation
of its state in foreign affairs is quality and
technologically advanced web site of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs which would present the most important data on the country
and its most important foreign policy priorities and national interests. Also, representation in bilateral relations can be regulated
with virtual embassies and consulates. Such
sites would decrease significantly overall expensive expenses of the embassies and they
50
would be updated by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. Instead being sent abroad, diplomatic representatives could maintain site at the
Ministry and travel in the receiving country
from time to time in order to refresh political
relations and realize new contacts.
In the final case, sending one diplomat to receiving country to maintain site of the virtual embassy and to carry out consular affairs
would be less financially demanding than
opening classical diplomatic representation.
Certainly, Montenegro should think in that
direction when the matter is about potentially important South American, African and
Asian countries. This would have significant
impact on training of young diplomats and
their further advancement in career. In this
case referents for countries would have
to pass sound training in law, economy,
and consular affairs, to posses advanced
knowledge about bilateral and multilateral
diplomacy and to speak two or more world
languages.
Whereas in huge countries with large diplomatic apparatus such as USA, France, Russia,
and China – diplomats, mostly due to huge
resources are not forced to carry out tasks
out of their specialization, such training of
diplomats in small countries would develop
great adaptability and versatility at the very
beginning. This would lead to setting up a
number of non formal contacts in receiving
country with colleagues from different areas,
which are equally important for quality realization of duties as formal contacts.
Small countries and their diplomatic services can have huge impact on development
of international relations. Aware that due to
their size, they cannot act as they want as
politically more powerful states, they have
to train and develop their diplomatic staff in
order to reach their goals by negotiating and
other diplomatic skills.
A number of small countries as Vatican,
Luxembourg, Malta, and Cyprus – enjoy
huge respect on international plan thanks to
manners and skills of their diplomats. Also
51
through joint action on multilateral plan
they are enabled to speak in view of important political and economic issues. Surely, If
Montenegro wants to be the country whose
opinion would be respected in international
currents, it should invest in its diplomatic
staff in order to become part of ”elite club of
smalls ” what would have positive influence
on its further development in political, economic, military and other terms.
Montenegro
and
diaspora
Ministryr
of Foreign
The Centre Durmitor in La Montenegrina before beginning of reconstruction
Institutionalisation
of relations with
old emigration in
Latin America
Montenegro
and emigration
For several years back, the Ministry has been acting towards
strengthening and institutionalization of relations with descendants of our emigrants in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay,
Bolivia, as well in the countries of Central America, first of all in
Guatemala and Panama where significant communities originating from Montenegro live.
In that context, the courses of Montenegrin language have been
organized for the last two years in Argentina, and the network of
honorary consuls of Montenegrin origin (Argentina, Guatemala
and Panama – appointment of honorary consuls originating
from Montenegro is expected soon in Uruguay and Paraguay)
Also, very important visits are visit of the Minister Roćen in July
2011 to Argentina and to old Montenegrin colonies in General
Madariaga and Buenos Aires, first of all to Chaco province, and
return visit of the Governor of Chaco province HorheKapetanic
to Montenegro in June 2013.
Gordan STOJOVIC, Director at the Directorate
m
ontenegro as one of highly migratory Mediterranean states
in its past went through several strong waves of emigration.
This emergence was particularly emphasized in the period
right after Balkans’ and the First World War when thousands
of people left Montenegro heading to North and South America.
Emigration from Montenegro was carrying on after the Second World War
but in significantly smaller waves, most often to the states of Western Europe, North America, Australia or somewhere else. If we look overall process from the first emigrations to Dalmatia, Istria and Italian coast, over
mass departures towards Russia at the end of 18 century, huge waves of
emigrants to Turkey but also emigrations to huge university and industrial
centers in the period of SFRY we can say that emigrating population from
52
The works on reconstruction
The high level state visit to Chaco province is expected on
October 2 this year when renovated Club Durmitor in Colonia La
Montenegrina will be inaugurated.
Founded in 1927 by the first Montenegrin immigrants in
Chaco province and founders of La Montenegrina colony it
represents today one of the most significant cultural monuments that were built by our emigrants. Between 1930 and
1950, apart from folklore and different cultural sections the
school”ColonoMontenegrino” functioned in it and due to that
fact it has been included in the cultural heritage of the Province
and the Republic of Argentina.
Apart from above mentioned, TVCG in cooperation with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration will take
part in realization of documentary TV serial devoted to Montenegrin emigration, first of all in Argentina but in other states of
Latin America. One part of the serial will be shot in Montenegro,
and the second part in Argentina. Apart from the recordings of
the most important emigration colonies, homes, monuments
etc. it will contain unique stories of the last emigrants of the first
generation, their descendants as well as of relatives in Montenegro. The serial will be broadcasted at the end of 2013.
Durmitor in the 30s of the last century
53
august, 2013.
Preservation of identity, tradition and Diplomarius,
culture
Constitutional session
of the Council for
Diaspora, July, 2013.
Director of the
Directorate
for Diaspora Gordan
Stojović visited the school
„Montenegro
my Homeland“, Lovćenac,
April, 2013.
Montenegro is heterogeneous not only according to its religious and national structure but
according to age of emigrants due to the fact
that it reaches fifth or sixth generation of descendents, level of integration in the countries
of emigration as well as according to its formal
and legal status.
Stated complexity and multilayered nature of
our emigration in its entirety created the need
for raising level and capacity of cooperation of
Montenegro with overall emigration, strengthening, renewal and setting up connections
and project cooperation with many emigration
groups originating from Montenegro.
In accordance with the conclusions of the Government of Montenegro about transformation of the Centre for Emigrants and formation
of special Administration for Diaspora at the
MFAEI one of the most important conditions
were met for continuation of successful realization of the Strategy for Cooperation with
Diaspora and the Action Plan that the Go-
vernment of Montenegro adopted at the end
of 2010.
In accordance with it the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and European Integration is working
intensively on the preparation of legal and
institutional framework of cooperation with
diaspora.
On the basis of the Constitution, goals from the
Strategy, cooperation with diaspora, own findings and all specific characteristics of our emigration, the best practice and experience of the
countries of the region and highly immigration
countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
European Integration is finalizing activities on
preparation of the legal framework arranging
all aspects of cooperation between Montenegro and diaspora.
The Law on Diaspora shall arrange relations
and cooperation between Montenegro and
emigration – diaspora, priority issues of co-
54
In previous period the Ministry has continued with activities on formation of data basis on industrials of our origin, experts and recognized professionals in cooperation with the Centre for emigrants
and it also worked on preparation of publication ‘’Who is who in
Montenegro’s Diaspora’’.
Centre for Emigrants of Montenegro and the Bureau for Education
Services. Last year, the school was attended by 65 participants, at
the age between 7and 15 years from Belgium, Great Britain, USA,
Russia, Spain, France, Macedonia, Netherlands, Serbia, Italy, Albania, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Sweden..
Led by postulates that Diaspora represents natural, social and cultural connection with abroad and that is very important factor in promotion and international affirmation of modern Montenegrin society, the Ministry proceeded to the realization of the project ‘’’School
of language and culture of Montenegro and to improvement of content and the quality of the school’’.
In cooperation with the Centre for Emigrants, preparation of the material for the on-line course of Montenegrin language intended for
‘’far’’ diaspora as well as for those who do not have enough time to
attend classical language courses was initiated.
In cooperation with the Center for Emigrants and other competent
bodies the ‘’Brochure for our Diaspora ’’ was drawn up, intended for
all emigrants from Montenegro. The Brochure contains all relevant
data on rights, obligations and procedures before state bodies, and
other topics relevant for our emigrants and citizens of Montenegro
temporarily working and staying abroad.
Special attention was given to organization of language courses and
preservation of the identity of Montenegrin tradition and culture. The
activities on realization of the program of additional education, creation
of conditions for Montenegrin emigrants to learn Montenegrin language, literature, geography, historical heritage and music were continued.
In accordance with financial assets, handbooks and teaching aids were
submitted to some associations of our Diaspora all around the world.
The Ministry also provided necessary logistic support with the purpose of forming and coordinating the process of organization of
Montenegrin societies in Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Albania and the USA.
The sixth summer school of language and culture ‘’Montenegro my
Country’’ will be organized on July 20-30 at IvanovaKorita by the
operation, manner of realization and strengthening cooperation, assets in function of
cooperation enhancement, holders, competencies and mutual relations between institutions from state to local level, protection of
rights and interests as well as other issues significant for diaspora.
Special chapters of the Law shall arrange issues
related to preservation of language, culture
and cultural diversities, affirmation of national
and state identity, educational, scientific and
sports cooperation, improvement of industrial partnership with diaspora and more active
participation of diaspora in social and political
life of the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European
Integration prepared the first version of this
Law which will be developed through the
work of special working group, after which
Proposal for a Law will be subjected to public
discussion.
55
Consular
Affairs
17.
Luksic-Mrkic, from signing
Agreement on Mutual Representation
in Providing Consular Protection
and Services in Third States
• Republic of Croatia: Australia (Consulate
General in Melbourne and Pert), Chile and
the United States of America (Consulate
General in Los Angeles).
Aware of the benefit of mutual providing of
consular assistance and representation in
visa issuing by the states of the region, we
promoted this idea within the Regional forum of MARRI initiative, where significance
of improvement of regional and bilateral
cooperation has been recognized and Memorandum of Understanding was signed
prompting the need for intensification of
political and working contacts along with
improvement of cooperation in a number
of areas that will contribute to deepening
overall relations between member states.
MA Nikola IVEZAJ
II Secretary
Directorate General for Consular Affairs and
Diaspora
i
ssues of the protection of interests of
Montenegrin subjects over diplomatic
and consular representations of third states is normatively arranged by the Law
on Foreign Affairs providing that ‘’ in order to
protect interests of Montenegro, its citizens
and legal entities in the states in which Montenegro does not have diplomatic or consular
representation, the Government may conclude agreement with the third state that shall
protect our interests over its diplomatic or
consular representation and in compliance
with international law and practice.
Having in mind that Montenegro is relatively small state still developing its diplomatic
network, and appreciating the need to provide
appropriate protection of rights and interests
of our citizens in third states and to enhance
cooperation in the field of visa and consular
issues, as important aspect of European integration process and the need to improve visa
policy, Montenegro has concluded bilateral
agreements on providing consular assistance
and representation in visa issuing with the
Representation in providing consular services
Republic of Serbia, Republic Bulgaria and
the Republic of Croatia. In that way we
have reinforced our presence in over 60 countries of the world and enabled adequate
consular protection for our citizens. Abovementioned agreements represent unique
example of consular representation in the
region and they give additional impetus for
strengthening bilateral relations and to the
regional cooperation.
In order to remove possible dilemmas,
stated form of representation does not represent “classical diplomatic services”, but
exclusively execution of consular affairs for
citizens of Montenegro and visa issuing for
56
Montenegro, with remark that our partners
collect taxes from carrying out these services. Representation in providing consular
services refers to assistance to Montenegrin citizens in case of death, heavy accident or serious illness, during arrest, imprisonment, holding in custody, providing
legal assistance, documents providing and
visa issuing.
It is clear that there is readiness among
neighbors and that cooperation is at good
level, but also there is some space for its
further improvement through mutual representation in third countries, particularly
in emergencies or situations provoked by
natural disasters. I will remind you that
Montenegro was enabled to help its citizens staying in Japan during natural disasters or in Egypt and Libya during civil riots
thanks to this kind of modality of consular
representation.
In order to have clearer picture about benefits of consular representation, it is necessary to list the countries in which Montenegrin interests are being protected over
diplomatic and consular representations of
third states.
• Republic of Serbia: Algeria, Angola, Australia, Argentina, Belorussia, Brazil, Bul-
garia, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland,
Netherlands, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran,
Israel, Japan, Jordan, South Africa, Canada,
Kenya, Cyprus, Cuba, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Norway,
Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic Korea,
Rumania, Syria, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden ,
Tunis, Ukraine and Zambia.
• Republic Bulgaria: Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Kazakhstan and Moldova. Also
the initiative for representation in Cambodia, Kuwait, Ghana, Lebanon, Mongolia,
Uzbekistani, Pakistani, Thailand, Vietnam
and Zimbabwe was initiated.
57
Having in mind that life and daily circumstances often go a step ahead of regulations, it is necessary to use favorable political
ambience and intensified regular contacts
to intensify cooperation in all fields and in
light of expressed commitment to further
fostering neighborly relations.
In the years ahead of us, on the way of
further European integration, we have undertaken obligation of harmonization of
modalities of representation in providing
consular services and visa issuing in compliance with European standards, which
will improve our consular service. Therefore it is necessary to strengthen and improve
bilateral cooperation with EU members, primarily with the states with which we already have signed agreements, due the fact
that European regulations clearly provide
that interests of European Member States may be represented by Member States
exclusively, which Montenegro will become soon, I hope so.
Consular
Affairs
Adjustment of
Montenegro to EU
standards in visa
policy, migrations,
asylum and readmission
a
djustment to EU standards in these four areas represents one of the
most important conditions for fulfilment of Action Plan form Chapter
24, particularly in the part referring to security. On the basis of present activities of competent bodies (MFAEI, MI, Police Directorate)
it can be assessed that a number of results
have been reached, but there is still a lot of
work left to complete adjustment to EU standards.
After Montenegro had obtained visa liberalisation for traveling of its citzens to the countries of Schengen, the partners from EU
have pointed out recently certain percent
of misuse of visa free traveling but not in a
measure that would cause losing relieves for
our citizens. Thanks to coordinated efforts of
the MFAEI and MI and stricter control of conditions of traveling by the Sector of Border
Police, misuses of visa free traveling to the
Schengen countries are minimal.
Complete adjustment of the Decree on visa
regim of Montenegro to EU standards (socalled white and black list) can be expected
just prior to admission of Montenegro to full
and equal EU membership. Existing agreements on mutual traveling envisaging visa
free regime with the Russian Federation,
Ukrain, Albania and Turkey shall probably
remain in force for several years. Except in
case of Albanian citizens, no misuses of these
agreements for attempts of illegal entry into
EU states from Montenegrin terrtory have
been noticed.
Visa free traveling to Montenegro only during
touristic season for citizens of Kazakhstan,
Azerbaijan and Armenia did not cause any
security difficulties, due to the fact that there were no asylum requests for EU over
Montenegro’s territory. The same thing can
be said for citizens of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia who can, according
to the Decree enter and stay in Montenegro
to three months in the half year period without visa and only with Identity Card. With
regard to citizens of Moldova and Georgia,
to whom visas for Montenegro are issued by
Bulgarian Embassy in these countries, there also were no misuses of stay and asylum
request for EU countries over Montenegro’s
territory.
Taking into account overall migration movements through Montenegro, legal migrations
are far beyond so-called illegal migrations. A
number of persons from abroad staying in
Montenegro on the basis of season working
permissions (thirty thousand approximately)
58
is significantly higher than a number of persons in illegal stay. Only in the last year 1500
foreign citizens of the countries for which
Montenegrin visa is requested asylum in Montenegro.
Number of asylum seekers from Pakistan, Palestine, North Africa, Afghanistan and some
countries of so-called black Africa has increased significantly in the last four years from 15
persons to 1500. This is consequence of the
Croatian EU accession by which Montenegro
borders EU. Increase in number of asylum seekers represents additional burden for economy
of Montenegro already facing the crisis and
competent bodies are undertaking appropriate
activities in order to control unfavorable trend
along with providing appropriate accommodation for persons whose request for asylum is
being considered.
Radomir Sekulovic,
Independent Advisor,
Directorate General for
Consular Affairs and Diaspora
In the field of readmission, after Montenegro
had signed relevant agreement with EU, the
best results were reached in the process of
adjustment. Readmission requests of Montenegrin citizens who do not have or do not have
longer staying permission for EU states, are
executed smoothly, which is for sure one of the
most important arguments for preservation of
visa free traveling of our citizens to Schengen
countries.
Complete adjustment of
the Decree on visa regim of
Montenegro to EU standards
(so-called white and black list)
can be expected just prior to
admission of Montenegro to full
and equal EU membership
59
With the most important EU countries, implementation protocols referring to readmission
have been signed or entered into force enabling mutual accelerated procedure extradition. Readmission is carried out on the basis
of previously exchanged documents proving
citizenship, as well as on the basis of data on
competent bodies and international border
crossing designated for readmission of own
citizens, transfer of citizens of ”third state”or
persons without citizenship in the country of
origin.
N E W S
L E T T
E R
Young and
diplomacy
The sixth Summer School for
Young Diplomats “Gavro Vukovic”
i
n cooperation with the Capacity Development Program (CDP), UNDP Office in
Montenegro and with the support of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of
Norway, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro organized this
year again the Summer School for Young Diplomats “Gavro Vukovic”.
6 For
Monteneg
ro Summe
r School
Young Dip
lomats
“Gavro Vu
ković”
June 26 –
60
July 2, 201
3
This School is named after a renowned Montenegrin of Duke Gavro Vukovic, one of the most
important political figures in the more recent history of Montenegro. He was a diplomat, Montenegrin Minister of Foreign Affairs (1889), coeval
and close collaborator of King Nikola, author of
the memoirs that represent an important source
of information for the history of Montenegro.
Thanks to his skills, special approach to work
and results achieved, he became not only an
important name in the Montenegrin diplomacy
in the time of its independence, but a personification of the Montenegrin diplomacy in general.
Duke Gavro lived in Berane, and for that reason,
eachyear, the Summer School Opening Ceremony is organized in front of his house.
Summer school for young diplomats was organized for the first time in 2008, at the initiative of
Milan Rocen, former Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Acknowledgments and support given to this
school by the world leaders who recognize the
importance of this project, participation of renowned lecturers, academics and practitioners
in international relations who bring the current
issues of international politics closer to the young
colleagues year after year, as well as the support
of partners who have been assisting the imple-
Milena Ilickovic, Aleksandar Obradovic
mentation of this project for many years now, all
speak about the success of this project.
Young diplomats also speak about its success, as
they come in an increasing number each year to
attend this school.
The Sixth Summer School was an opportunity for
seven of us, beneficiaries of the program of professional training and development in the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and European integration, to build
further our knowledge in the area of foreign policy,
European and Euro-Atlantic integration, through
the lectures in various fields related to economic
relations and foreign policy. This was also an opportunity for all the participants to learn more about
the history, culture and foreign policy prioritiesof
61
the other participating countries, and through the
learning process, exchange of views and socializing,
to create a solid basis for future cooperation.
The stay in Berane, walks through the nature, tour
of the historic monuments, the Old Royal capital
of Cetinje, the National Park Bigoradsko Lake, mountain safari, have all contributed to the dynamic
character of this school.
This was not only the place for us to expand our
knowledge, but also an opportunity to learn about
other cultures and to create new friendships. So
many people from different parts of the world,
different cultures, languages, habits, all gathered
at one place, have made this an unforgettable
experience.
This year’s Sixth Summer
School was characterized by
various topics and lecturers from
throughout the world.
Role and importance of diplomacy in the renewal of the Montenegrin
independence – contribution to peace and security in the region
Milan Rocen, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Political Issues
Montenegro-NATO-Peace-Security
Nebojsa Kaludjerovic, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Foreign Policy; NATO
National Coordinator
Vladimir Gasparic, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Montenegro
Douglas Jones, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the United States of America in
Montenegro
European Integration and Enlargement Process –the impact of candidate
countries and potential candidates on the European Union and their neighbors
Aleksandar Andrija Pejovic, State Secretary - Chief Negotiator, Ministry of Foreign
Mrs. Catherine Knight-Sands, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
Tadej Rupel – Director General for European Policies in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Republic of Slovenia.
Diplomatic conference: Introduction to theory and practice of international
negotiations
Paul Meerts – Senior Research Associate at the Clingendael Institute, the Hague
Dr. Sinisa Vukovic- Assistant Professorat the Nijmegen University
Post- Arab Spring
Dr. Petra Weyland - Professor of the Middle East Studies, C. Marshall Center for
Security Studies, Germany
E-Diplomacy –between tradition and innovation
Dr. Jovan Kurbalija, Director, DiploFondacija
Proper use of lobbying in influencing foreign policy
Mr. Paige Reffe, founder of theReffe Group
Economic crisis - Security
Jan Peter Olters, Manger in the World Bank forKosovo
Nassir Abdulaziz Al–Nasser, UN High Representative for the Alliance of civilizations
Milena Ilickovic, Aleksandar Obradovic
Beneficiaries of the Program of Professional Training
and Development in the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
62
63
Finance
Budget execution the Ministry of Foreign
The 2013 Budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration amounts to EUR 12,654,317.81, which is approximately 1% of the total
2013 Budget of the state of Montenegro.
It is allocated to the following programs:
- Administration (EUR 1,527,239.00€);
- Diplomacy (995,999.00€);
- Diplomatic and consular missions (9,239,754.00€); and
- EU accession process (891,325.00€).
Budget execution represents the stage in the use of budgetary assets aimed at implementing policies that were planned by the respective budget.
Article 5 of the Budget Law of Montenegro for 2013 defines the pace of use of the approved funds for the fiscal year, and the money is spent depending on the acquired revenues (at the level of the state of Montenegro) in the specific month.
Budget execution in this Ministry in the first half of 2013 amounted to EUR 6,030,021.88, i.e. 48% of the total budget.
Table 1 gives an overview of budget execution by individual programs.
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND
EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
Planned
Executed
%
ADMINISTRATION
1,527,239.00 €
768,703.60 €
50%
DIPLOMACY
995,999.00 €
488,016.40 €
49%
DCM
9,239,754.00 €
4,356,288.77 €
47%
EU ACCESSION PROCESS
891,325.00 €
417,013.20 €
47%
TOTAL
12,654,317.00 €
6,030,021.97 €
48%
Having in mind the economic crisis, this Ministry has been continuously engaged in reducing current expenditures, which is confirmed by the budget
execution for the first half of this year.
Aimed at transparency of public finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration will periodically publish data on budget execution
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
64
65

Diplomarius-ENG-01

Transcription

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