This year’s European Commission’s Report on Montenegro is written in its recognizably optimistic and diplomatically cautious tone, reflecting the European Union’s current determination to encourage Montenegro’s progress towards membership.
However, beneath this carefully crafted language and diplomatic phrasing, it is clear that Brussels recognizes the same chronic problems that civil society in Montenegro has been warning about for years.
Had the institutions taken civil society’s warnings more seriously, some of the criticisms now coming from Brussels could have been avoided. We hope this report will finally be taken seriously, not as confirmation of propagandist optimism but as a call to realistically assess the scope and limitations of the reforms carried out so far.
The European Commission notes that the strategic documents adopted during preparations for obtaining the IBAR are not being implemented as planned. The report states that “some of the planned activities for 2024 were not fully implemented” under the Judicial Reform Strategy. A similar assessment applies to the Anti-Corruption Strategy, whose implementation “remains a challenge,” as monitoring and reporting are still not functional enough. Even at the time of adoption, the CDT warned that these documents were insufficiently developed and ambitious. It is evident that even these limited commitments are not being implemented consistently or within the prescribed timeframes.
In the area of the judiciary, the European Commission calls for the recommendations of the Venice Commission to be implemented without delay and reiterates concerns that have been known for years but remain unresolved, including the composition of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils, the spatial and technical capacities of the judiciary, as well as its independence, efficiency and professionalism. The Commission warns that open criticism and personal attacks against the Supreme State Prosecutor and members of the Prosecutorial Council in Parliament “raise serious concerns about possible undue influence and risks to the autonomy of the prosecution.”
CDT has long been warning of the authorities’ tendency to retain political control over independent institutions — a phenomenon also recognized by the European Commission. The report explicitly points to attempts to influence the Agency for Audio-visual Media Services (AVMS), the Constitutional Court and the state prosecution.
The Commission also cautions that certain reforms implemented to obtain the IBAR are not sustainable, and that problems with enforcing media legislation and appointing members of the AVMS Council could have implications for Chapter 10. Thus, the progress achieved is called into question – Parliament has repeatedly missed legal deadlines and failed three times to appoint members of the AVMS Council, preventing the full implementation of the law. The Commission recalls that all future amendments must be carried out through transparent and inclusive consultations to safeguard the independence of the AVMS and the public broadcaster.
Regarding electoral reform, the European Commission confirms what CDT has publicly pointed out throughout the entire process – that the reform was carried out non-transparently, without genuine consultations, and with only partial implementation of the recommendations from the Venice Commission, OSCE/ODIHR and GRECO. Although the electoral reform was presented as an important step toward meeting obligations, in practice, it was rushed and adopted without the opinions of expert bodies.
It is therefore no surprise that Brussels now concludes that Montenegro’s electoral legislation still does not comply with European standards for inclusive, transparent, and resilient electoral processes, that “effective safeguards against the misuse of state resources” are missing, and that the framework for the financing of political parties and campaigns must be further revised to ensure real oversight of party spending and introduce dissuasive sanctions.
The report also clearly highlights the political and institutional instability that slows down reforms. The Commission acknowledges the Government’s operational stability while noting that the Government’s extensive ministerial structure, compounded by the coalition’s heterogeneity, impedes effective decision-making and policy alignment. According to the report, institutions are “fragile and susceptible to political crises and potential institutional blockages.”
The report clearly indicates that public administration reform is progressing slowly and with insufficient results. While acknowledging that the new Law on Civil Servants and State Employees is a step forward, it stresses that there are no precise data on the number of employees, their engagement, or competencies – meaning there is no clear picture of the civil service’s overall capacity.
The European Commission also confirms the criticisms of civil society regarding reduced government transparency and the ineffective system for exercising the right to access information, including the government’s practice of making decisions through telephone sessions. Meanwhile, the Law on Free Access to Information is still awaiting adoption, and cases of administrative silence continue to pile up before the Administrative Court. This practice, which civil society has long cautioned against, demonstrates that the right to information access in Montenegro is merely nominal.
The European Commission also warns of the spread of disinformation, hate speech, and radical content, noting that the institutional response remains weak and uncoordinated. The report makes it clear that Montenegro still lacks a sustainable system for preventing radicalization. It specifically underscores the lack of a defined strategy and institutional instability, noting that four national coordinators for countering extremism and terrorism have been appointed within a mere three-year span.
The Commission emphasizes that Montenegro must significantly strengthen its response to disinformation and hate speech, accelerate alignment with European digital and media laws, and “close the space for foreign influence and information manipulation.” These findings confirm CDT’s long-standing warnings about the absence of a sustainable response to disinformation, extremism and malign foreign influence.
The report further notes that Montenegro has still not aligned its visa policy with that of the European Union, reminding that full alignment is one of the final benchmarks under Chapter 24. The Commission demands that this be done “without delay,” and that exemptions from the visa regime inconsistent with EU policies be abolished. This reform segment, too, has followed a familiar pattern. It was adopted without analysis, public discussion, or consultation with experts and the international community. The recent developments concerning the visa regime with Turkey illustrate this approach perfectly – decisions directly affecting foreign policy and security are made ad hoc, under political pressure.
Finally, the European Commission concludes that cooperation with civil society in Montenegro largely amounts to formal consultations without genuine dialogue, and warns about statements by public officials that discredit the work and reputation of human rights activists.
Milica Kovačević, Program Director, CDT