Montenegro faces crucial deadline for EU-related constitutional amendments

Montenegro faces a deadline to initiate constitutional amendments, the failure to adopt which could jeopardize the country’s goal of concluding its EU accession negotiations by the end of the year.

The amendments require a two-thirds majority, while the opposition is making its support conditional on a vote to dismiss Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić, Montenegrin media report.

According to the Podgorica-based newspaper Vijesti, Montenegro’s parliament must approve the launch of the constitutional amendment process, CE Report quotes STA.

The proposed changes would introduce mandatory integrity checks for candidates for prime minister and ministerial positions. If the proposal fails to secure the required support, Montenegro will be unable to close negotiating Chapter 23, which covers the judiciary and fundamental rights, this year, potentially slowing its progress toward EU membership.

The Montenegrin government approved the proposed constitutional amendments in mid-August. The changes are intended to introduce mandatory integrity checks for candidates for prime minister and ministers before their appointment. Candidates who fail to meet the legally prescribed requirements would be ineligible to take office.

The parliamentary session, which began last week, also includes draft constitutional amendments proposing the removal of immunity for government members in corruption-related criminal cases. Both proposals form part of anti-corruption reforms considered important for Montenegro’s progress toward EU membership.

The constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority, which the ruling coalition cannot secure without opposition support. Montenegro’s Constitution also stipulates that a rejected proposal for constitutional amendments cannot be resubmitted to parliament for one year.

The opposition has made its support for the amendments conditional on a vote to dismiss Parliament Speaker Mandić. The opposition Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) called for his dismissal following his expression of condolences over the death of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić.

After the ruling majority failed to ensure a quorum for the vote on Mandić’s dismissal in September, the opposition announced that it would not cooperate until the vote was allowed to proceed.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos also called on the ruling coalition and opposition to reach an agreement on Monday. Following an intergovernmental conference at which Montenegro closed three additional EU negotiating chapters, she warned that the constitutional amendments could not wait and that the political deadlock could jeopardize the country’s European path.

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