Presentation in Brussels of the Policy Brief "Influence of Women in the Parliament of Montenegro"

In the period from November 7 to November 11, Program Coordinator in the European Movement in Montenegro, Mila Brnovic visited Brussels and, on this occasion, she had the opportunity to present policy brief "Influence of women in the Parliament of Montenegro" which will be published soon in English and Montenegrin language. This study is the result of research that is supported by the German Council on Foreign Relations within the TRAIN program.

The research was presented at the European Parliament, more specifically at the Secretariat for Foreign Affairs and Members of the European Parliament, after which has been held a meeting with the employees of the Directorate for Enlargement of the European Commission, responsible for Montenegro.Also, on this occasion the European Movement had its representative at the round table "EU enlargement policy after Brexit", and a visit to the Council of the European Union's Directorate General for Enlargement, Security, Civil Defense and Foreign Affairs.

Presentation of the enlargement package for 2016 at the European Parliament in Brussels

In the second part of the visit to Brussels, a representative of the European Movement in Montenegro, attended the official presentation of the enlargement package in the European Parliament by Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and the enlargement negotiations. On this occasion, Mr. Hahn pointed out that the enlargement process is still the interest of the European Union, but the reforms are taking place alarmingly slow.

Some of the general messages related to the complete process of enlargement that were necessary to achieve concrete results as soon as possible when it comes to implementation are reforms related to the fight against organized crime and corruption. Also, the central role of Parliament is required to be strengthened and to avoid boycotts of this institution. As some of the key problems, he stated poor management of public finances, lack of administrative capacity, but also a high rate of unemployment, especially among young people. When it comes to migration and the enlargement countries, the role of the EU in the future must be to help countries that receive migrants in developing their own capacities. Last summit in Paris, according to the Commissioner, had left a good guide to the future path of development of these relations.
In addressing to specific countries in the enlargement process, he stated that Montenegro has made good progress and that the elections were more transparent than the previous one, but it is now time to get concrete results on the basis of systemic reforms and adopted regulations. This applies in particular to the specific tangible results in the area of corruption and organized crime.

According the other countries in the enlargement process, strong messages have been sent to Turkey regarding the decline in the rule of law and fundamental rights. Commissioner Han expressed his concerns about the credibility of the Turkish side as a candidate country on the attitude of the EU membership. In the case of Serbia, it has been concluded that reforms must continue and it has been seen limited progress, but he welcomed Serbia's role in migration, and improving regional cooperation. The general assessment of Macedonia is primarily based on the need to see the full implementation of the regulations and to ensure the holding of free elections. Limited progress has been made in the negotiations with Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the case of Kosovo, this progress primarily concerns the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, but requires more work in the future. In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, although there is progress, it is threatened by deep systemic problems that need to be addressed promptly. In the end, the greatest progress is, in the words of the Commissioner, seen in Albania, which has embarked on the road of reform of the judiciary and public administration that has achieved results in the fight against corruption and organized crime. Albania has received a conditional recommendation on opening negotiations with the European Union, which depends on concrete results in implementing judicial reform.