The establishment of the rule of law is essential for joining the EU
Party leaders at the Regional Plenum in Podgorica
A prerequisite for the Western Balkan countries to join the European Union (EU) is the creation of just states in which criminals sit in the defendants’ chairs rather than hold positions of power, it was stated during the panel “Democratic Alternatives: Building a European Future for the Western Balkans” at the regional plenary “Fractures in Democracy: Nationalism and Clericalism in the Western Balkans.”
The regional plenary is jointly organized by the Academy for the Development of Democracy (ADD), the Centre for Civic Education (CGO) in Podgorica, the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo (FPN), and the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES).
The President of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), Danijel Živković, responding to a question from the moderator Aleksandra Jerkov of ADD, stated that the European Commission report gave positive assessments to Montenegro and Albania, while this was not the case for other countries in the region. He assessed that the process has been going on for far too long for the entire region and has been neglected by many actors, recalling that the DPS-led government opened accession negotiations with the EU in 2012.
“In those eight years during which we remained in power, we opened all negotiation chapters and temporarily closed three. During the five years of the new government, only four chapters have been temporarily closed. It is good that Montenegro is today described as the most advanced country in the process, but this is declarative, not substantive,” Živković stated.
He added that populists and nationalists are in power in Montenegro today, and that “populists have enabled nationalists to gain momentum on issues such as historical revisionism and the dismantling of institutions.”
Živković noted that it is often said “that the EU wants us more than we want the EU—at least when we look at the current government’s stance.”
“And this is dangerous for society as a whole. I have warned many times—you can find an administration capable of aligning Montenegro’s legislation with EU law, but the most difficult task is the emancipation of a society,” he emphasized, stressing that this is a demanding process for everyone.
“If we want to continue on that path, we must be ready to give something up. Every political actor who truly wants to support EU integration will have to sacrifice part of their approval ratings in favor of the emancipation of society,” Živković concluded.
Živković expressed skepticism about the realistic prospects of Montenegro becoming an EU member in 2028. “I am afraid that we will not finish the integration process by the end of 2026. In five years, we have closed four chapters; by the end of this year, we are expected to close five, and many more next year. I am not convinced this will be possible, considering the way the government behaves,” Živković stated.
He also pointed to strong external pressure on the media sector and audiovisual services, as well as influence on the energy sector, and the loss of the Parliament’s oversight role.
“When the Prime Minister does not appear in Parliament, that alone is an indicator of where democracy in Montenegro stands,” Živković said.
He was unequivocal that the current government cannot lead the country into the EU, emphasizing that this is neither a subjective nor an emotional assessment. Still, he stressed that it would be in Montenegro’s best interest to become an EU member as soon as possible.
“Russian malign influence will not wait even a second to take a dominant role in the Balkans. The number of its proxies in Montenegro is significant. I am speaking about media outlets and various organizations that undermine democracy,” Živković noted.
He added that the opposition will not abandon the EU path and warned that in the next year and a half, attempts to halt Montenegro’s progress toward the Union will intensify.
“There is no cure or solution for Montenegro without political stability and genuinely committed pro-European actors within the government,” Živković concluded.
Speaking about relations between Montenegro and Serbia, he noted that after 2006, conditions were created for Belgrade to accept an independent Montenegro.
The leader of the Democratic Party (DS) in Serbia, Srđan Milivojević, stated that Serbia is currently a country under the spotlight of European public attention, but emphasized that a clear distinction must be made between Serbia and the country’s president, Aleksandar Vučić.
Milivojević noted that Serbia has parties such as the DS, which has fought for 36 years against war-mongers and in favor of European values.
“Over the last 12–13 years in power, Vučić has established a firm link between the state and organized crime. There is no doubt that Serbia is governed by an organized criminal group,” Milivojević said.
According to him, Serbia is not threatened by the Škaljari or Kavač clans, but by the “AVač clan,” alluding to the initials of Aleksandar Vučić.
“He is endangering not only Serbia’s European future but also that of the entire Western Balkans. Vučić is an obstacle to normal life, because he is someone who has never abandoned the sentence ‘if they kill one Serb—we will kill 100 Muslims’. Even though he has put on an EU tuxedo, he has never abandoned hatred and division,” Milivojević stated.
He reminded the audience that a new political force has emerged in Serbia—the student movement. “These are young people who, twenty-five years after ‘Otpor’, say: ‘do not divide us by religion or nation’. The only real division is between human and inhuman. We do not want coexistence—we want common life,” Milivojević said.
In his assessment, Serbia has not merely stalled on its EU path—“it is rapidly moving in reverse,” because “Vučić does not want Serbia in the EU, but the younger generation has clearly chosen European values.”
“These young people are saying: if we could reach agreement in Novi Pazar, Niš, and Belgrade, then tomorrow young people from Belgrade, Sarajevo, Podgorica, and Priština will be able to agree as well,” Milivojević noted.
He added that even Vučić’s followers in Montenegro are slowly turning their backs on him, just as Milorad Dodik did earlier. “Do not doubt that Andrija Mandić has not already bought a ticket to America to make his own deal, like Dodik did. When Montenegro joins the EU, Knežević will also be a citizen of Montenegro; he will not say, ‘I do not want a Montenegrin passport’,” Milivojević stated.
“Vučić threatens the vital national interests of both Montenegro and Serbia. Montenegro’s interest is to join the EU as soon as possible. Vučić will try, through prepaid politicians, to trip Montenegro on its EU path, but I guarantee you that this will not happen,” Milivojević stated.
He added that the Balkans does not need a firm hand, but a clean hand, and that the Democratic Party offers exactly that. “The DS offers Montenegro a clean hand of cooperation and a shared vision toward the EU. A flag of victory will soon be waving in that hand,” Milivojević said.
Milivojević emphasized that “if we want to be part of the EU, the task for both the DS and the authorities in Montenegro is to build a just state. Crimes cannot go unpunished if we want to move toward the EU.”
The President of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, Venko Filipče, stated that EU integration is a realistic prospect for Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia.
“But at the same time we see increasing tensions in these countries, and the main problem is that extremists dominate the public narrative. They do everything they can to maintain an atmosphere of tension, because that is their guarantee for staying in power,” Filipče said.
He stressed the need for partnership between progressive parties and civil society. “We must unite against nationalists. We will make a mistake if we fail to understand that these right-wing parties help each other remain in power, even when they appear to be in conflict,” Filipče explained.
He stated that old politics are coming to an end and that it is essential to focus on young people and approach them more directly in order to engage them. “Choosing the right people is crucial for change. If we want to be accepted as a democratic alternative to right-wing parties, voters will apply much stricter standards. Selecting the people we work with is a key element for building trust, especially among newer generations of voters,” Filipče assessed.
A member of the Presidency of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Damir Mašić, responding to a question about solutions to societal divisions, said that truth is the only answer. “We must speak it and spread it every day; it is the best tool in fighting division. Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a multiethnic country where diversity was nurtured for centuries, saw that diversity threatened in the 1990s. The people responsible for that are the same ones whose policies continue to block regional progress today,” Mašić said.
“We must call things by their real names and name those responsible. It is a luxury to speak in diplomatic language to describe phenomena present in our countries and wrap them in silk gloves,” Mašić added.
He said that the concept of the Serb World best illustrates how Russian malign influence seeks to keep the Balkan states in a state of status quo. “Constant interference in the internal affairs of other countries by the regime in Belgrade is unacceptable. I am glad that after some time, this criticism is now voiced much more clearly,” Mašić stated, adding that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, as multiethnic states, have been most exposed to malign influences.
“We hope Montenegro will complete its European path as soon as possible,” he said, noting that the EU must be less hypocritical and more vocal along the way.
“The EU must also call things by their proper name, and in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it must not adapt European values to abnormal circumstances in BiH, because that does not help us,” Mašić said.
He pointed out that Bosnia and Herzegovina has undergone countless reforms that have ended up as “dead letters on paper.”
“I guarantee that 90 percent of our problems are caused by a handful of radical nationalists who hide brutal crime and corruption behind nationalism,” Mašić stated.
“If the judiciary in BiH functioned properly, those nationalists would not be in a position to create problems—they would be sitting in the defendants’ chairs. What we need is a free and independent judiciary capable of tackling crime and corruption,” Mašić concluded.
