Milatović: Montenegro can enter the European Union in five years

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović believes that due to the geopolitical situation, Montenegro can enter the European Union (EU) in five years.
In an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Milatović said that the optimism that Montenegro can enter the EU is more justified today than it was six months ago.
He said that in Berlin and numerous other European capitals he presented a plan for Montenegro to achieve membership by 2028 and that he met with very well-intentioned reactions.
"Montenegro is a reliable member of NATO and the most advanced candidate for joining the EU. Also, due to the geopolitical situation, I am convinced that we can enter the EU in five years. Montenegro's new political culture has paid off," said Milatović.
When asked why the EU would accept another member with the right of veto and thereby complicate decision-making even more, Milatović replied that Montenegro has always harmonized its foreign policy with the Union, sometimes to its own detriment.
"We support the EU's foreign policy out of conviction. Therefore, there are no valid objections to our membership in the EU," Milatović believes.
According to him, accession negotiations are not a linear process.
Milatović said that he hopes that the new government and the majority in the parliament will very soon, by the end of the year, fill the vacant positions in the judicial system, where a two-thirds majority is required for appointments.
He reminded that for years this was a prerequisite for Montenegro to be able to close further chapters.
"When the appointments in the judiciary, which are currently pending, are implemented, several chapters that have already been negotiated could be closed immediately," Milatović assessed.
He believes that this would give a new impetus to the entire accession process.
"All chapters could be closed by the end of 2026, so that our accession agreement could be ratified in the parliaments of the member states in 2027, and our accession could follow in 2028," Milatović pointed out.
Asked if they were afraid that any member state would veto against Montenegro for any reason, Milatović said that he believes that the performance still counts in this process.
"In addition, in recent years we have especially seen that geopolitics is an important factor. Montenegro's accession would far exceed the benefits for our country alone and show other countries in the region that the reforms are worth the effort. I believe that this is now very well understood in Brussels as well." , assessed Milatović.
Speaking about the Census, Milatović said that in Montenegro there are some so-called "political dinosaurs" who use identity issues politically every day, because they have no answer to important questions such as climate change, the rule of law or infrastructure.
"The census is a statistical issue. The European statistical authority Eurostat cooperates with the Montenegrin Statistical Institute and is sure that it will do its job well. The census should be left to the statisticians and not politicized," Milatović believes.
In response to the statement that ethnic identity is particularly controversial in Montenegro and that the United States and Great Britain proposed that the issue be excluded from the list, as it is unnecessarily polarizing, Milatović said that it was a legitimate proposal, but that the current law provides that such issues should include in the list.
"It is crucial that we create a system in which everyone, regardless of identity, has the same opportunities. In a democracy, and Montenegro is now one of them, people should be allowed to answer all the questions they want to answer," Milatović assessed.
When asked what about those who don't want it, Milatović replied that "it's one thing to answer what and how you want, and it's another thing if you don't want to participate at all."
"For people who do not want to participate at all, the law foresees penalties. Participation is key," said Milatović.
In response to the statement that Serbia is trying to influence the census and that there is a proposal to allow Montenegrins to study in Serbia for free in the future only if they declare themselves as Serbs in the census in Montenegro, Milatović said that this is not new and that some are already using the records of the 2011 census in order to be exempted from paying school fees in Serbia.
"In addition, no one has to study in Serbia. Montenegrins can study anywhere in the world, just like me," said Milatović.
"I declare myself a Montenegrin"
He repeated that he had publicly said that he was a Montenegrin, as he did in the 2011 census.
When asked if it is a matter of interpretation that some say that Montenegrins are an independent nation, others that they are a branch of the Serbs, Milatović said that this does not apply only to Montenegro.
"Most importantly, no matter how you define yourself ethnically, everyone must have the same conditions to make something out of their lives. Right now the focus is on the wrong issue. The key issue is whether we are building a society whose institutions treat all people equally. And I think we are doing that ", said Milatović.
Asked what about his plan to complete the highway loan and the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Milatović said that the new government has been in power for a month.
"He is working hard on this issue. Further construction of the highway can probably start in 2024. The spatial plan needs to be adopted. We are currently cooperating with some of the mentioned institutions regarding financing. Hopefully, the tender will follow sometime next spring." said Milatović.
POBJEDA