MONTENEGRO MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

For additional information I. Current Political Situation please contact us at:

Local and Presidential elections

On November 26, 2017, elections were held in four municipalities in (, , Petnjica and ). On Selim Lika February 4, 2018, local elections were held in and . Director General for Consular Affairs In almost all of the above mentioned municipalities (except for Tel: +382 67 220 402 [email protected] Berane), Democratic Party of Socialists – DPS won the elections.

During 2018, after the presidential elections (April 15, 2018), there will be local elections in a number of municipalities - Bar, Bijelo

Polje, , , Šavnik and Žabljak, including the Milos Djurickovic Capital – City of . Director Tel: +382 67 882865 Speaker of the Parliament Mr. Ivan Brajović, following the [email protected] consultations with political parties (opposition parties did not

respond to the invitation to attend the consultation) which took place on January 19, 2018 set April 15, 2018 as the date for presidential election.

Although there is a consensus that opposition parties should enter the election with a common candidate, preferably a non- party person or a woman, still no compromise has been found on the issue. Nevertheless, mutual accusations between opposition parties continue and it is very hard to believe that they will find a common language on this, having in mind that opposition parties are divided among themselves in terms of some crucial topics (foreign policy, church, economy, identity issues etc.). On the other hand, the strongest party - the DPS, also has not announced the name of its presidential candidate yet.

The President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr. Brajović sent an official invitations to the main international organizations - the EU, NATO, OSCE and CoE to monitor the elections. The invitation was also sent to the diplomatic and consular missions in Podgorica.“ I believe the election will be held in a positive and democratic atmosphere,” said Mr. Brajović.

The last parliamentary vote in October 2016, was marred by

an alleged coup attempt. Twenty people were accused of planning armed attacks against state institutions and the trial is ongoing.The opposition rejected the election results, accusing the government of creating a climate of fear an is boycotting the parliament work. Since then, opposition parties have set their activities outside the parliament. The Prime Minister has repeatedly, and this was done by the Speaker of the Parliament and the President of DPS, sent a call to members of opposition parties to start a dialogue within the OSCE / ODIHIR Working Group on the Implementation of the OSCE / ODHIR recommendations related to elections and electoral legislation. The opposition, characterized by a divided and dis-harmonious performance in general, but also within the individual parties from which it has been composed, reacted negatively to those calls or

refused to appoint its representatives in the Working Group.

This certainly did not contribute to a constructive approach to address this situation, although the last parliamentary elections have been accepted as legal and legitimate by all international factors.

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II. Economy Overview

In December 2017, the Government of Montenegro adopted the Strategic document named “The Development Guidelines of Montenegro for the period 2018-2021.” This document determines strategic goal of our country's development in

order to increase the quality of life of its citizens in the long

run. The goals, priorities and directions of the future development of the Montenegrin economy have been confirmed and the focus will be on tourism, energy, agriculture and rural development and the processing industry.

In 2017, a positive trend in the economic development was achieved and there is an expectation that the rate of economic growth will continue, as well as an increase in the number of new jobs. The average earnings (gross) in April 2017 amounted to EUR 769.00, while the average salary without taxes and contributions (net) amounted to EUR 512.00. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 2016 amounted to EUR 5,826.00 and the projections of its growth are: 3.2% in 2017, 4.4% in 2018, and 2.6% in 2019. Share in GDP by sectors is

following: industry: 11%; agriculture 9.6%; services and

tourism: 21.1%. Montenegro's budget for 2018 (adopted in December 2017) amounts to about EUR 2 billion.

The net inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) in 2016 amounted to EUR 371.6 million. Investments in Montenegro in the last 10 years come from more than 100 countries from different regions of the world and some of the major partners are UAE, Canada, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Japan, China etc. The inflation rate in November 2017 was 0.1%. The total foreign trade of Montenegro for 10 months of 2017 amounted to EUR 2.41 billion. The total foreign trade of Montenegro in 2016 amounted to EUR 2.38 billion.

Talking about tourism, in 10 months of 2017, 1.8 million

tourists visited Montenegro, with almost 11.5 million

overnight stays. Montenegro's total revenues from tourism in 2017 were estimated at EUR 900 million, which is more than the record year of 2016.

In the third quarter of 2017, there were 281.6 thousand of active population in Montenegro, of which 239.8 thousand or 85.2% were employed and 41.8 thousand or 14.8% of unemployed persons.

Potential sectors for investments are energy, transport infrastructure, tourism and agriculture. 3

III. Foreign Policy

Since restoring its independence (21st of May 2006), Montenegro has clearly and unequivocally opted for the direction of its own foreign policy: EU and NATO membership and the strengthening of regional cooperation and good neighborly relations.

NATO membership

Montenegro's accession to NATO realized on June 5, 2017 is the biggest foreign-policy success since the restoration of the independence and the event of a historical significance. It is not only a solid and long-term guarantee of sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the state, but a prerequisite for unhindered economic development, a larger inflow of foreign investments and a strong incentive for EU integration. Montenegro's admission confirms that open door policy and transatlantic cooperation remain high on the agenda of the Alliance, which is particularly important in the context of the overall security situation in the region, but also in Europe. As in the past, Montenegro will continue to actively contribute to the regional and global security and stability, through

continuous support to countries aspiring for NATO membership, participation in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and other crisis areas, and the fight against terrorism (e.g. Global Coalition against Daesh). Montenegro currently allocates 1.66% of GDP to the defense budget, which ranks it among 8 Alliance’s members. It is planned to continually increase the allocation for defense at the Alliance's standard of 2% of GDP by 2024 or 20% of the total defense budget for modernization by 2020.

European integrations

The Government of Montenegro is fully committed to the implementation of obligations from the European agenda and is currently the leader of the integration process in the region. So far, 30 negotiation chapters with the EU have been opened and 3 have been temporarily closed. In the upcoming period,

the focus of the Government and the Negotiating Team for the

EU Accession will be on further closing of the chapters, with permanent and consistent work in key areas addressing the rule of law, the judiciary, the fight against corruption and organized crime, the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms, freedom media and others. We expect that the upcoming progress reports of the candidate countries that the EC will announce in April 2018, we provide us concrete guidelines for future action in order to achieve visible progress in the mentioned negotiating areas.

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On February 6, 2018 a document: "The credible prospect of enlargement for the Western Balkans and greater engagement of the European Union in that region," as a joint work of the EEAS and the European Commission was presented in Strasbourg. The document confirms the European future of the region as a geo-strategic investment in a stable, strong and united Europe, based on common values and principles. The strategy states that by 2025 the EU could have more than the current 27 members, but that the speed of progress will depend on the concrete results of each country individually. For Montenegro, as pointed out by its Prime Minister Duško Marković, the “document has a special significance because Crna Gora was mentioned in the context of the next EU member in the timeframe until 2025 as a credible period in which it can be ready for membership. If it (Montenegro) achieves adequate results, accession can be earlier.” This is also an incentive to continue implementing vital reforms aimed to political, economic and social transformation of the country, even before the indicated year.

For Montenegro, but also for the Region as a whole, it is encouraging that despite the numerous challenges of the EU the enlargement policy remains highly positioned on the Agenda of Brussels. A special contribution to that will be provided by the current and future Presidency: Bulgaria, Austria and Romania. Therefore, Montenegro with optimism expects the next EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia on May th 17 , 2018 (the first since the 2003 Thessaloniki Summit), with the expectation that the countries of the region will be unanimously supported on their European integration path.

When it comes to the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, Montenegro has 100% alignment with the EU positions in a number of issues related to current regional and global issues.

Regional cooperation and relations with neighbors

Regional cooperation and good neighborly relations are

certainly one of the key priorities of the country's foreign

policy. Montenegro strives to play a constructive role and is recognized as a factor of stability in the Balkans, which through its success in the reform and integration process can contribute to the progress of the region as a whole. A special mechanism for strengthening regional relations, primarily in terms in economic and infrastructural integration, is so called "Berlin Process".

5 In the framework of this in initiative, meetings of the representatives of the Western Balkans (at the level of the Heads

of State or Government, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Minister

of Economy together) and the EU are held annually. The last such Summit (after Berlin 2014, Vienna 2015 and Paris 2016) was held in Trieste in July 2017 and the next one is planned for July 2018 in London. Montenegro is committed to working with other countries in resolving all bilateral issues in a constructive and friendly dialogue, including the demarcation of the border with Kosovo or the status of Prevlaka (with Croatia). At the same time, with active participation in over 30 regional organizations and initiatives (Montenegro will chair the Adriatic Chapter – A5 in 2018 and Adriatic-Ionian Initiative from May 2018 till May 2019) Montenegro contributes to the strengthening of regional cooperation. In that regard, Montenegro submitted candidacy of former Prime Minister, and then the Prime Minister of the Republic of Montenegro, Mr. Igor Lukšić for the post of Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) based in Sarajevo,

Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Multilateral cooperation

Montenegro is a member of numerous multilateral organizations in which it participates as a responsible member, ready to fulfill all undertaken obligations. In this way, the benefits of membership in other international organizations (UN, OSCE, CoE, WTO, WHO, UNESCO, etc.) can be used. As a small state, Montenegro attaches special importance to multilateral mechanisms and initiatives, because in each of these frameworks, each resource and every opportunity can be used most effectively. The multilateral dimension of cooperation is the best chance for small countries such as Montenegro to participate, to the possible extent, in solving the global challenges and problems of today.

Visa Liberalization and Freedom of Movement

The Decision of the Council of Europe dated November 20, 2009 on the abolition of visas for Montenegrin citizens, which came into force on 19 December 2009 was of a major importance for Montenegro and its path towards NATO and EU membership.

Having in mind the necessity to harmonize its visa policy with EU regulations, the implementation of the Schengen Action Plan and the activities to meet all measures in negotiation process, pursuant to Article 16, paragraph 2 of the Law on Foreigners, Montenegro is responsibly fulfilling the obligations arising from the visa liberalization. In that sense and on the basis of the Council of Europe's Decision, the Government of Montenegro, at the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, makes corresponding amendments to the Regulation on the visa regime in order to harmonize with European regulations on annual basis.

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