European Forum

EU Commissioner Füle calls on Montenegrin leaders to reach areement

Stefan Füle, European Commissioner for Enlargement, has today called on Montenegro’s political elite to reach an agreement on the election law, a minimum requirement for Montenegro to receive a date for EU accession negotiations. Füle relayed his message via a telephone conversation with PM Igor Luksic, Parliament Speaker Ranko Krivokapic and opposition leaders Srdjan Milic, Andrija Mandic and Nebojsa Medojevic, according to a local news agency.

According to a press release, the European Commissioner again called on the government and opposition to reach agreement on the adoption of the election law. Füle encouraged both sides to reach agreement with the aim of fulfilling all seven priorities set by Brussels. He also assessed his conversation with government and opposition leaders as constructive.
Adoption of the election law requires a two-thirds majority in the parliament, but the opposition has conditioned its support to the granting of equal status for the Serbian and Montenegrin languages within the country’s education system.

PM Luksic has so far held four rounds of negotiations with the opposition regarding this issue, but so far without agreement being reached. The opposition rejected Luksic’s offer for the school subject to be called Montenegrin/Mother Tongue and Literature, while the PM rejected the opposition’s proposal for the subject to be called Montenegrin, Serbian/Mother Tongue and Literature.

The Montenegrin parliament votes tomorrow (2 September) on an amendment to the education law that envisions equality between the Serbian and Montenegrin languages in the education system.

Sources: Balkan Insight; SETimes; Image