Montenegro Country Information - policy

Montenegro has been an independent state since June 3, 2006, making it the youngest country in Europe and the 192nd member state of the United Nations (fully recognized under international law).

According to the constitution, it is a parliamentary democracy, with the parliament elected directly by the people. At that time, 55.5% of the 87% of the population who voted in the referendum voted in favor of secession from Serbia, with which the country had existed in a confederation since 2003. It was a close call, with the required majority being 55%. That was on May 21, 2006. The first free parliamentary elections were held on September 10, with a turnout of over 70%. Until 2020, the DPS (Democratic Party of Socialists) always formed the government with changing coalition partners. Then other parties managed to bring some momentum back into the deadlocked politics, currently with the pro-European, centrist Evropa sad.

On September 19, 2007, a constitution was adopted for the first time since 1905, a political milestone. Montenegrin has been the official language ever since. An important component is freedom of expression and freedom of the press, as well as the equality of all languages, religions, and cultures. In practice, there is still a lot of work to be done in this regard. For example, Roma people are still often denied economic and social rights, even though an anti-discrimination law has been in place since 2011.

The first presidential elections took place on April 6, 2008.

A very dubious program is hidden under the title “The world's first ecological state.” Here, the country has imposed environmental protection on a large scale. The attentive and critical visitor will search in vain for the first signs of this. Here, the image is only cultivated on paper.

Organized crime and corruption throughout the state apparatus pose major problems. Among other things, this is the biggest human rights issue and places the country in an inglorious 67th place in Europe according to the 2018 Corruption Index. Since the 1990s, Montenegro has repeatedly played a central role in international cigarette smuggling. To this day, the country still has to deal with the black market trade in narcotics, weapons, people, stolen vehicles from the EU, and unsolved contract killings, and it is not uncommon for high-ranking politicians to be involved. The political goals for the future are the development of agriculture, connections in the areas of shipping and tourism, and investment in environmentally friendly energies. There are plans to develop Montenegro into a free trade zone and an offshore center for wind energy. Investors are already being attracted to the country with tax breaks.

Montenegro has been an official candidate for accession to the European Union since December 17, 2010. Accession negotiations began on June 26, 2012, with the plan being to join the Union in 2025—a pipe dream.