COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
FINAL COMPROMISE AMENDMENTS
Draft Report on the 2019-2020 Commission Reports on Montenegro
(2019/2173(INI))
Rapporteur: Tonino Picula (S&D)
version of 06/04/2021
PARAGRAPHS
COMP 1
Paragraph 1 and 1a (new)
AM 28 (Deli/NI), Rapporteur
AM 27 (Rivière, Mariani/ID) falls
1.
Welcomes Montenegro’s continued engagement in the EU integration process and its
overall progress;
1a (new)
Stresses the importance of the swift implementation of the revised
enlargement methodology based on thematic negotiation chapter clusters and phasing-in to
individual EU policies and programmes, in order to accelerate the overall negotiation
process and provide clear and tangible incentives of direct interest to citizens of Montenegro;
(AM 28)
COMP 2
Paragraph 2
AM 30 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 31 (Deli/NI)
AM 29 (Rivière, Mariani/ID) falls
1
2.
Welcomes the opening of Chapter 8 (Competition policy) and Montenegro’s decision
to accept the principles of the revised enlargement methodology; calls in particular for
efficiently (AM 30) meeting the interim benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24
, which wil be the
next milestone (AM 30)
, and strongly supports closing of accession chapters, as Montenegro
delivers and implements reforms on required benchmarks; (AM 31) recalls that
only (AM
31) three chapters have been provisionally closed since the opening of the first chapter in
December 2012, and encourages a clear focus on working to address the closing benchmarks
in all other chapters;
COMP 3
Paragraph 3
AM 32 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 33 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 34 (Deli/NI), AM 35
(Rapporteur), AM 36 (Fajon, Schieder/S&D)
3.
Notes Welcomes (AM 33) that the 30 August 2020 elections resulted in the first
transition of power since the
country’s independence introduction of the multi-party system,
(AM 35) in full respect of democratic standards and Montenegro’s constitution
as well as the
fact that OSCE/ODIHR found the elections to be conducted in an efficient, competitive and
transparent manner; (AM 34)
positively notes that the election results were not contested
and that all elected Parliamentarians have actually resumed their duty; (AM 33)
expresses
concern about the reports of external influence in the election process; (AM 32, 36)
COMP 4
Paragraph 4
AM 37 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 38 (Rapporteur), AM 39 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 40
(Rapporteur)
4.
Welcomes the fact that on its first working day, the newly formed Montenegrin
Government held an exchange of views with Members of the European Parliament and EU
officials and
the new government’s explicit commitment to further pursue EU integration
and to meet standards necessary for the country’s progress on the EU path and to strengthen
the transatlantic alliance (AM 39, 40);
stresses that it is vital not to reverse earlier
achievements in the reform process (AM37)
and encourages the new Government to use its
mandate to accelerate EU-related reforms and accession negotiations;
notes that an open and
constructive dialogue between all political and social stakeholders, as well as an agreement
on key issues concerning the overall progress of the country are needed for Montenegro to
make progress on the EU path; (AM 38)
2
COMP 5
Paragraph 5
AM 41 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 42 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 43 (Grošelj et al./Renew)
5.
Stresses the need for cooperative and constructive cohabitation between the President
,
and the new Government
and the new Parliament, (AM 42) with a view to enhancing
Montenegro’s progress on its EU path
and strengthening further democratic progress of the
country;
calls on all parties to abide by democratic and constitutional principles (AM 41,
43);
COMP 6
Paragraph 6
AM 40 (Rapporteur), AM 44 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 45 (Deli/NI),
6.
Welcomes recent public opinion surveys, which show that
an increasing number of
Montenegrin citizens 75 % (76,6%) (AM 40)
of the citizens support
Montenegro’s accession
to the country’s membership in (AM 40) the EU,
which is as (AM 40) a clear message to the
new Government that the people want
reforms (AM 40) based on European values;
notes that
this is one of the highest rates of public support for the EU in the region; (AM 44)
in this
context, welcomes the fact that the Commission gave new impetus to enlargement in 2020
with a new strategy for the Western Balkans and the Economic and Investment Plan; (AM
45)
COMP 7
Paragraph 7
AM 46 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 47 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 48 (Deli/NI)
7.
Commends Montenegro’s progress in several areas of the accession negotiations,
including international police cooperation and the fight against
organised crime (AM 47)
(including trafficking in human beings
and drug smuggling) (AM 48); calls on the authorities
to accelerate political and economic reforms, particularly on the rule of law
and fundamental
rights, (AM 46) the judiciary, media freedom and the fight against corruption, where further
significant progress has to be made;
COMP 8
Paragraph 8, 8a (new), 8b (new)
AM 49 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 50 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 51 (Rapporteur), AM
151 (Grošelj et al./Renew)
3
8.
Calls for the active engagement and appropriate inclusion of the Western Balkans
countries
, including civil society as well as youth, (AM 50) in the Conference on the Future of
Europe
and their contribution should be taken into account given their commitment to
become Member States of the Union in the future; (AM 49)
8a (new)
Calls for the creation of new opportunities for high level political and policy
dialogue with the Western Balkans countries, through regular EU-Western Balkans
summits and intensified ministerial and parliamentary contacts, in order to strengthen the
political credibility of the enlargement process, to ensure stronger steering and high-level
engagement, as also called for by the revised enlargement methodology; (AM 151)
[also in
Kosovo report]
8b (new)
Recalls that it is the interest of the government to ensure adequate
representation abroad; refers, in this regard, to the pending appointment of Head of
Montenegro’s Mission to the EU; (AM 51)
COMP 9
Paragraph 9 and 9a (new)
AM 52 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 53 (Deli/NI), AM 54 (Rapporteur)
9.
Takes note of the findings and conclusions of the international observers from the
OSCE ODIHR, and calls on the authorities to address their recommendations fully
and in due
time before the next national elections (AM 53); welcomes the Government’s adoption of a
decision on the establishment of the Council for the Control of the Electoral Roll;
notes that
the Parliament of Montenegro passed a Decision on the establishment of the Committee for
Comprehensive Electoral Reform in December 2020 and expects this Committee to begin
functioning without any further delay; (AM 52)
9a (new).
Encourages holding local elections simultaneously across the country in
order to bring more stability to democracy, avoid constant campaigning and to ease the tense
political climate in Montenegro; (AM 52, 54)
expresses disappointment, that despite a cross-
party agreement to hold local elections on the same day, the legal framework still does not
address this issue sufficiently; (AM 53)
recalls that a two thirds majority is needed to amend
the Law on the Election of Councillors and MPs, which requires a broad consensus of
parliamentary parties; (AM 54)
COMP 10
Paragraph 10
AM 55 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 56 (Grošelj et al./Renew)
10.
Calls on all political forces in the newly elected Skupština (Parliament) of Montenegro
4
to engage in a constructive, meaningful and inclusive dialogue in the Parliament, as this is the
key to a successful parliamentary democracy;
welcomes the decision of the opposition not to
boycott the work of the parliament and (AM56) reiterates that a functioning parliamentary
democracy is based on the participation of both government and opposition in the
parliamentary decision-making process; underlines that broad consensus of both the ruling
majority and the opposition is fundamental in moving forward on the EU accession path and
on reforms; calls on measures aimed at improving dialogue and trust across the political
spectrum; (AM 55)
COMP 11
Paragraph 11, 11a (new)
AM 57 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 58 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 59 (Bilčík/EPP),
11.
Welcomes the
first recent appointments to Montenegro’s Delegation to the EU-
Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee (SAPC)
and the
completion of the Montenegro delegation to the SAPC; calls for
the finalisation of the
process and the appointment of members of the opposition and resuming of the work of
SAPC as soon as possible; (AM 57)
11a (new)
Welcomes the steps aimed at improving the supervisory role of the Parliament
of Montenegro as well its transparency and openness to citizens and civil society; (AM 58)
Calls for the newly elected parliament to ensure inclusive political dialogue within
parliament and for a stronger role for civil society; (AM 59)
COMP 12
Paragraph 12 and 12a (new)
AM 61 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 62 (Ernst/The Left, Franz, Urtasun, Waitz/Greens/EFA,
Incir/S&D, Grošelj/Renew), AM 63 (Waitz/ Greens/EFA), AM 64 (Castaldo/NI), AM 65
(Rapporteur), AM 82 (McAllister/EPP), AM 101 (Grošelj et al./Renew)
12.
Reiterates the importance of accelerating work on the implementation of the action
plans for Chapters 23 and 24 and other strategic documents relating to the rule of law
and
fundamental rights (AM 63), in particular through effective cross-party dialogue aimed at
ensuring the required qualified majority for key judicial and prosecutorial appointments
, as
well as through conducting public and expert consultations concerning changes of key
legislation; (AM 63)
expresses concern that the working group on chapter 24 has not met
over the past year; (AM 61, 62)
5
12a (new)
Is concerned about the recent developments as regards the Special Prosecutor
for organized crime and corruption as well as around the planned changes in the
composition of the Prosecutorial Council; (AM 82)
invites the Montenegrin government to
amend crucial pieces of legislation, including in the case of the proposed amendments to the
Law on Prosecutor's Office and the Law on Special Prosecutor's Office in line with
democratic norms and established European practice,
and to follow-up on the Venice
Commission’s opinion in this respect
; (AM 64, 101)
emphasises that the independent
functioning and integrity of the Special Prosecutor’s Office is key for Montenegro’s progress
in the area of rule of law; (AM 65)
COMP 13
Paragraph 13, 14
AM 65 (Rapporteur), AM 67 (Fajon, Schieder/S&D)
AM 66 (ECR) falls
13.
Regrets limited progress in the judiciary, and calls on the Montenegrin authorities to
urgently address the remaining challenges with regard to the independence, professionalism,
efficiency and accountability of the judiciary
through implementation of existing legislation
and (AM 65) in line with the recommendations made by the Group of States against Corruption
(GRECO)
and the Venice Commission;
stresses that Montenegro needs to make further
progress on rule of law reforms, including to advance and not reverse the implementation of
the judicial reform in line with good democratic norms and practice; reiterates that as the a
result of reforms already carried out, Montenegro already has the bodies and mechanisms
in place to ensure judicial and prosecutorial independence and accountability; encourages
the authorities to make consistent use of these mechanisms and to build on the work done to
produce further develop results and its track-record in the fight against corruption and
organised crime; (AM 65)
14. Expresses deep concern over the Judicial Council’s interpretation of the Constitution
,
which condones the unlawful reappointment of court presidents for more than two terms;
notes that the President of the Supreme Court and the presidents of the basic courts in Bar,
Kotor and Plav resigned after the call for judges with multiple mandates to resign,
respecting good European practice and democratic standards; (AM 67)
COMP 14
Paragraph 15, 15a (new)
AM 68 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 69 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 140 (Loiseau/Renew),
AM 142 (Waitz/Greens/EFA)
6
15.
Welcomes the fact that some progress has been made in the fight against organised
crime, in particular as regards stronger capacity and professionalism of the police;
encourages
Montenegro to continue its efforts in this area, in particular through combating
internationally operating criminal networks, with a particular focus on the fight against
money laundering, human, drug and arms trafficking as well as illegal gambling, cigarette
smuggling and tracking the links to local politicians and police officers; (AM 69, 140, 142)
15a (new) Underlines that systemic deficiencies in the criminal justice system remain and need
to be addressed as a matter of priority;
urges the authorities to put in place concrete measures
to limit the use of plea bargains to exceptional cases in order to enhance the transparency
and the credibility of the judicial response to organised crime; (AM 68)
COMP 15
Paragraph 16, 16a (new), 17
AM 70 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 71 (Rapporteur), AM 72 (Fajon, Schieder/S&D)
16.
Is seriously concerned about the limited progress in the fight against corruption, and
calls on the institutions responsible to
significantly (AM 70) improve the country’s track record
in the confiscation of criminal assets, prosecutions and final convictions
, in particular for
high-level cases, by substantially improving quality and independence of the criminal
investigation and law enforcement; (AM 70)
16a (new)
Notes some positive developments in the operations of the Agency for
Prevention of Corruption; stresses however that challenges related to its independence and
priority-setting still remain and calls on the agency to act independently and to implement
consistently the Law on Prevention of Corruption
; (AM 71)
17.
Reiterates the need for a robust criminal justice response to high-level corruption;
recalls the need for an effective response to the alleged abuse of state resources for political
parties and illegal financing of political parties;
COMP 16
Paragraph 18, 18a (new), 18b (new)
AM 73 (Deli/NI), AM 74 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 75 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 76
(Fajon, Schieder/S&D), AM 77 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 78 (Waitz/Greens/EFA)
18.
Welcomes the efforts to implement public administration reform (PAR) and the results
already achieved; is concerned by the findings that party membership still
strongly (AM 74)
influences employment in the Montenegrin public sector
and calls on the new government to
7
avoid politically-motivated dismissals and hiring of civil service professionals (AM 75); calls
on the Montenegrin authorities to continue their efforts to create an efficient public
administration and to retain expertise, in particular on the EU accession process
, and in that
respect welcomes transparent appointment procedures (AM 74);
regrets that institutional
capacities of the competition and anticorruption agencies remain weak; (AM 73)
18a (new)
Expresses concern over the amendments to the Law on Civil Servants and
State Employees adopted in the Parliament of Montenegro, which lower the criteria for the
work in public administration and could undermine the progress made in public
administration reform aiming to implement merit-based employment; (AM 76, 77)
18b (new)
Welcomes the new government’s promises to significantly increase
transparency in all areas, including public finances and encourages them it to urgently
develop and adopt an improved Law on free access to information; (AM 78)
COMP 17
Paragraph 19, 19a (new)
AM 79 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 80 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 95 (Grošelj et al./Renew)
19.
Notes the upcoming population and housing census in Montenegro, and calls on the
institutions responsible to hold it in line with European standards and international
recommendations;
urges to avoid any politicisation of the process (AM 79) and
calls for an
investigation of all accusations related to foreign interference in the census procedure; (AM
95)
19a (new)
Calls on the Montenegrin authorities to devote special attention to money
laundering, tax evasion and any other criminal activity in the framework of the investor
citizenship scheme, while considering phasing out of it; (AM 80)
AM 81 (Castaldo/NI) - VOTE
COMP 18
Paragraph 20
AM 83 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 84 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 85 (Georgiou et al./The Left)
AM 86 (Rivière, Mariani/ID) falls
20.
Deplores the state of freedom of expression and media freedom, an area in which five
successive Commission reports have noted ‘no progress’
, especially when it comes to the work
8
of the public broadcasting service RTCG (AM 84); strongly condemns all types of attacks
against the media and intimidation of journalists, and calls for the urgent and effective
investigation of these
, including past cases, in order to end impunity of crimes against
journalists (AM 84);
regrets that some cases of violence against journalists still remain
unsolved; (AM 83)
calls for further steps to be taken to ensure independence of media and
journalists (AM 85)
; (urges Montenegro to provide conditions conducive to the effective
exercise of freedom of expression, which is one of the EU’s fundamental values and a crucial
element of Montenegro’s EU accession process;
COMP 19
Paragraph 21, 21a (new), 21b (new)
AM 88 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 89 (Rapporteur), AM 90 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 91
(Zovko/EPP), AM 92 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 93 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 94
(Castaldo/NI), AM 153 (Zovko/EPP), AM 154 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 166
(Castaldo/NI), AM 167 (Deli/NI),
21.
Is concerned about the high polarisation of the media landscape, in particular about
the growing volume of disinformation (AM 89), also
aimed at exacerbating ethnic tensions,
distorting electoral processes (AM 94)
and reducing the support of the population for the
euro-Atlantic integration; (AM 92)
; underlines that media literacy
, and media freedom
and
independence (AM 89) are key to combating disinformation;
stresses the need to improve
coordination in order to fight regional disinformation campaigns; (AM 88)
21a (new) Calls for the strengthening of European cooperation with Montenegro on addressing
disinformation, and cyber and hybrid threats
that seek to undermine the European perspective
of the region and; is concerned about the growing vulnerability of Montenegro through the
increase of Montenegro's public debt, in particular to China; (AM 88, 90, 153, 154, 166)
calls on Montenegro, the EU Member States and the EU Delegation in Montenegro to
continue pursuing a more active and effective communication policy on the European
perspective, aimed at both local and EU citizens and continue the coordinated efforts on
increasing the visibility of the EU funded projects; (AM 91, AM 167)
calls on the
Commission and the EEAS to support the creation of a Balkan-focused Centre of Excellence
on disinformation (AM 88)
21b (new)
Calls on national authorities to take concrete steps in building resilience and
cyber security at the time when Montenegro faces increasing pressure through foreign
interference that seeks to undermine Montenegro’s statehood and pro-Western orientation,
(AM 90)
and to enforce a deeper oversight of the media landscape in order to tackle fake
news and other disinformation activities (AM 94)
in particular orchestrated by harmful
foreign influences (AM 92)
and for operational independence of the media regulators and
public service broadcaster (AM 93), while striking a balance between fight against
disinformation and disproportionate restrictions of freedom of expression online;
9
COMP 20
Minorities, including Roma and Egyptians
Paragraph 22, 22a (new)
AM 87 (Ernst/The Left, Franz, Urtasun, Weitz/Greens/EFA, Incir/S&D, Grošelj/Renew),
AM 95 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 96 (Georgiou et al./The Left), AM 97 (Waitz/
Greens/EFA), AM 98 (McAllister/EPP), AM 99 (Zovko/EPP), AM 106 (Rapporteur), AM
107 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 108 (Waitz/ Greens/EFA),
22.
Strongly condemns verbal and physical attacks against and intimidation of national
minorities, especially in Pljevlja following the August 2020 parliamentary elections
and
recently in Berane and Niksic (AM 98);
urges Montenegrin authorities to thoroughly
investigate all those incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice; (AM 95, 97)
;
22a (new)
Emphasises the need to protect all of the national minorities’ rights, in
particular as some of them no longer have minority party representatives to Skupština; (AM
106)
urges to pay special attention to issues related to the national and ethnic affiliation of
Montenegrin citizens; (AM 95)
calls for respect of the multi-ethnic identity of the country,
including the languages used, the cultural heritage and the traditions of local communities;
(AM 99)
stresses that further progress has to be made in the social inclusion of Roma and
Egyptians in the labour market, education and public life in Montenegro, and calls to ensure
their access to personal documents and legal status as well as to take effective measures
against hate speech; (AM 87, 96, 107, 108)
COMP 21
Domestic violence, gender balance, persons with disabilities
Paragraph 23, 23a (new), 23b (new), 23c (new)
AM 60 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 100 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 102 (Georgiou et al./The
Left), AM 103 (McAllister/EPP), AM 104 (Rapporteur), AM 105 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 109
(Bilčík/EPP), AM 115 (Rapporteur)
23.
Takes note of the Law on Domestic Violence Protection
and its current changes, (AM
100) and
asks urges (AM 103) for its thorough implementation
, including the allocation of
sufficient resources, (AM 100) as gender-based, domestic violence and violence against
children remain an issue of serious concern;
calls for more vigilance and establishing support
systems for victims of domestic abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic; (AM 100, 102)
23a (new)
Calls the authorities to ensure a thorough implementation of the Istanbul
Convention standards, including by increasing the number of well-trained and gender-
sensitive law enforcement officers and judges, as to ensure the proper investigation and
10
prosecution of domestic violence crimes, and to introduce effective measures against sexual
harassment, including at the work place; (AM 100)
23b (new)
Is concerned about limited results of the existing policies and projects aimed
at encouraging women's participation in the labour market, policy-making, and politics and
face vulnerabilities in employment and in social policies; (AM 104, 105)
regrets in this
respect declining number of female MPs (AM60),
lack of gender-balanced political
representation in elections and in the new parliament and government; (AM 104)
calls for
necessary legal and policy measures to promote political participation of women; (AM 60)
23c (new)
Recalls that while the Montenegrin government approved the annual action
plan of the strategy for the protection of persons with disabilities from discrimination and
for the promotion of equality, the implementation remains the key goal; regrets that persons
with disabilities still face discrimination and difficult access to justice; (AM 109)
Stresses
that access to healthcare services needs to be improved for people with disabilities, internally
displaced persons and other vulnerable groups
; (AM 115)
COMP 22
Paragraph 24, LGBTI persons
AM 110 (Reintke, Waitz, Urtasun /Greens/EFA, Schreinemacher, Ştefănuță /Renew,
Walsh/EPP, Angel, Biedroń, Schieder, Köster /S&D), AM 112 (Georgiou et al./The Left),
AM 113 (Grošelj et al.Renew), AM 114 (Bilčík/EPP)
AM 111 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR) falls
24.
Welcomes progress on the protection of
the LGBTI rights
of LGBTI persons (AM
110) and
the fact that Montenegro is the first country in the region to adopt a the adoption
of the (AM 113) law on same-sex partnerships
and calls on authorities to ensure all necessary
conditions for its adequate implementation;
stresses that the situation of transgender and
non-binary persons needs to be improved; (AM 110)
welcomes the peaceful conduct of the
Pride Parade in 2019; (AM 114)
calls on the Montenegrin authorities to continue to improve
the climate of societal inclusion and tolerance (AM 112, 113)
and to collect disaggregated
data relating to hate speech and crime based on sexual orientation and gender identity; (AM
110)
COMP 23
freedom of religion
Paragraph 25, 25a (new)
AM 116 (Deli/NI), AM 117 (Rapporteur), AM 118 (Grošelj et al.Renew), AM 119 (Fajon,
Schieder/S&D)
11
25.
Calls on the Montenegrin authorities to
continue a genuine dialogue on freedom of
religion with
religious representatives and other (AM 116) relevant stakeholders and in line
with the Venice Commission’s opinion of 24 June 2019;
calls on neighbouring countries to
refrain from interfering in this issue and other internal affairs of Montenegro; (AM 117)
25a (new)
Expresses concern that the new Government adopted amendments to the Law
on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities in an
urgent procedure without public debate nor dialogue with all religious communities and
without the opinion of the Venice Commission; (AM 118, 119)
notes that the President has
signed the law;
COMP 24
regional cooperation & neighbourly relations
Paragraph 26, 26a (new), 26b (new), 26c (new), 26d (new)
AM 121 (López-Istúriz White/EPP), AM 122 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 124 (Rapporteur), AM 125
(Zovko/EPP), AM 126 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 127 (Castaldo/NI), AM 129 (Rapporteur), AM 130
(Zovko/EPP), AM 131 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 132 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 152 (López-Istúriz
White/EPP)
AM 120 (Rivière, Mariani/ID), AM 123 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR) fall
26.
Commends Montenegro for its commitment to inclusive regional cooperation, and the
constructive role it plays in the Western Balkans region, and welcomes its active participation
in numerous regional initiatives;
underlines that regional cooperation and good neighbourly
relations are linked to Montenegro’s EU perspective; (AM 122)
26a (new)
Welcomes the signing of the Protocol on the Determination of the Border
Point between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia in May
2019 and (AM 126)
encourages Montenegro to continue to address, in a constructive spirit,
outstanding bilateral issues with its neighbours, including the unresolved border
demarcation issues with Serbia and Croatia, as early as possible in the accession process;
(AM 125)
notes that bilateral relations with Serbia were marked by tensions and insists that
all bilateral disputes be resolved through inclusive and non-confrontational dialogue, while
avoiding any form of foreign interference in domestic issues; (AM 124)
26b (new)
Welcomes the establishment of the Common Regional Market, which shall
lead the way to the country’s full accession to the European Single Market; (AM 121, 127)
strongly believes such initiatives could be an important tool to increase the potential, the
attractiveness and the competitiveness of the region and in particular could help the regional
economies in their post pandemic recovery process; (AM 127)
12
26c (new)
Welcomes the signing of a protocol for cooperation in search of missing
persons between governments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Montenegro as a good
example of cooperation in investigating cases of missing persons; (AM 129)
is concerned by
the lack of progress in dealing with war crimes committed in Montenegro and calls on the
authorities to intensify its efforts in punishing war crimes and clarifying the fate of missing
persons and to support and develop the established Documentation and Information Centre;
(AM 130, 131)
26d (new)
Reiterates its support for the initiative to establish the Regional Commission
for the establishment of facts about war crimes and other gross human rights violations on
the territory of the former Yugoslavia (RECOM); (AM 132)
commends the governments of
Montenegro on their commitment and fulfilment of their obligations in the framework of the
Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) membership, underlining the importance of the
current Montenegrin rotating chairmanship in this organization; (AM 132, 152)
AM 133 (Zovko/EPP) VOTE
COMP 25
foreign and security policy
Paragraph 27, 27a (new), 27b (new)
AM 128 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 135 (Rapporteur), AM 136 (Zovko/EPP), AM 137
(Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 138 (Deli/NI), AM 139 (Fajon, Schieder/S&D), AM 155
(Grošelj et al./Renew)
AM 134 (Georgiou et al./The Left) falls
27.
Commends Montenegro’s full alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security
policy and its active participation in
civilian EU (AM 135) missions under the common
security and defence policy (CSDP),
notably EU NAVFOR ATALANTA and EUTM Mali,
(AM 136, 138)
and other international missions, notably UN operation MINURSO and in
the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, NATO- led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan
and the KFOR mission in Kosovo; (AM 138)
27a (new)
Expresses concern over the governmental appointments in the security and
military intelligence sector and the danger that Montenegro's strategic alliance with the EU
and NATO could be called into question; (AM 139)
underlines the strategic importance of
Montenegro's NATO Membership (AM 128) and
encourages Montenegrin authorities to
cooperate in the field of resilience to foreign interference and cybersecurity with both the
EU and NATO; (AM 137)
27b (new)
Underlines the need for the EU and the United States to strengthen their
partnership and coordination in the Western Balkans in order to advance key reforms,
improve governance and reconciliation; (AM 155)
13
COMP 26
cooperation on migration, cross-border crime, smuggling
Paragraph 28, 28a (new), 28b (new)
AM 143 (Georgiou et al./The Left), AM 144 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 145 (Deli/NI),
AM 146 (Rapporteur), AM 147 (Deli/NI), AM 148 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 149 (Zovko/EPP), AM
150 (Ernst/The Left, Franz, Urtasun, Waitz /the Greens/EFA, Incir/S&D, Grošelj/Renew),
AM 141 (Rivière, Mariani/ID) falls
28.
Commends Welcomes (AM 144) Montenegro’s progress on and renewed commitment
to international police cooperation, and encourages it to continue its efforts to cope with the
migratory pressure irregular migration, by further developing its international cooperation
on
the protection of borders,AM 145) readmission and raising its capacity to prosecute
migrant-smuggling networks;
28a new
Notes the entry into force of the agreement on border management
cooperation between Montenegro and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency
(Frontex) which will allow Frontex to assist Montenegro in border management and carry
out joint operations; (AM 146, 147, 148, 149)
and with tackling cross-border crime at the
country’s sea borders, including the smuggling of drugs and weapons, and trafficking in
human beings and terrorism; (AM 149)
28b (new)
Urges Montenegrin authorities to keep the respect for human rights,
fundamental freedoms and international law at the core of their migration and border
policies; calls on Frontex/EBCG operations in Montenegrin territory to operate by these
same standards; (AM 143, 150)
COMP 27
financial sector, budget, tax reforms
Paragraph 29, 29a (new), 29b (new)
AM 156 (Rapporteur), AM 157 (Fajon, Schieder/S&D), AM 161 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM
164 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 185 (Rapporteur),
29.
Welcomes Montenegro’s progress in reinforcing the stability of its financial sector, as
well as in implementing concrete improvements to labour market condition;
notes however,
that the unemployment rate remained high, particularly among women, youth, Roma and
low-skilled people; (AM 156)
Encourages authorities to improve the participation of women
in the labour market and to address issues such as gender gap in employment and pay and
affordable childcare; (AM 161)
29a (new) Expresses concern that the Budget Law for 2021 was not proposed until the end
14
of 2020 (AM 157)
and calls for a more transparent and timely national budgeting process
(AM 164)
29b (new) Welcomes the implementation by Montenegro of the necessary reforms to comply
with EU tax good governance principles and its removal by the Council (18/02/2020) from
the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes; (AM 185)
COMP 28
education and labour market
Paragraph 30
AM 158 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 159 (Georgiou et al./The Left)
30.
Encourages Montenegro to intensify work on better aligning the education system with
the labour market in order to more effectively tackle the phenomena of skills mismatch and
brain drain among young people;
calls on the Montenegrin authorities to strive for an open
and transparent human resource policy in public administration (AM 158)
as well as for
increased public investments for sustainable social and economic development; (AM 159)
COMP 29
impact of COVID-19
Paragraph 31, 31a (new)
AM 160 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 162 (Zovko/EPP), AM 163 (Ernst/The Left, Franz,
Urtasun, Waitz/Greens/EFA, Incir/S&D, Grošelj/Renew), AM 165 (Deli/NI),
31.
Notes with concern the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Montenegro’s economy
as its GDP has declined by 14.3% in 2020; (AM 162) calls on the Government to carry on a
responsible macroeconomic and fiscal policy in view of the high public debt; encourages the
authorities to make the best use of EU assistance in order to mitigate the impact of the crisis
,
including developing and implementing targeted measures to mitigate the impact of the
pandemic on marginalised communities and vulnerable people; (AM 163)
underlines the
importance of developing entrepreneurial skills among youth; (AM 165)
31a (new)
Calls on the Commission to support Montenegro’s efforts to reduce
unemployment, seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular in the tourism
sector, that accounts for more than 20% of Montenegro’s GDP and takinginto account large
decline of the number of tourist arrivals; (AM 160, 162)
COMP 30
EU assistance for fight with COVID-19
Paragraph 32, 32a (new), 32b (new), 32c (new)
15
AM 168 (Fajon, Schieder/S&D), AM 169 (Rapporteur), AM 170 (Zovko/EPP), AM 171
(Reintke, Urtasun /Greens/EFA, Schreinemacher, Ştefănuță /Renew, Walsh/EPP, Angel,
Biedroń, Schieder, Köster /S&D), AM 172 (Deli/NI), AM 173 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 174
(Zovko/EPP), AM 175 (Fajon, Schieder/S&D)
32.
Reiterates that the European Union has swiftly mobilised
substantial immediate (AM
169)
financial and material (AM 170) support for the Western Balkans to tackle the
health
emergency resulting from the (AM 169) COVID-19 pandemic
health emergency (AM 169)
and the socio-economic recovery of the region;
recalls EUR 53 million granted to Montenegro
for the procurement of urgent medical equipment and for assisting sectors most seriously
affected by the COVID-19 crisis and the decision to provide macro-financial assistance
(MFA) of up to EUR 60 million to help Montenegro limit the negative socio-economic
consequences of the pandemic; (AM 169, 170, 172)
32a (new)
Stresses the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact
on the whole society, in particular women, single-parent families and vulnerable groups,
such as Roma, Egyptians, LGBTI people and people with disabilities and other minorities,
by deepening inequalities and exacerbating existing problems; calls on the Montenegrin
authorities to take into consideration the needs of these groups when creating and
implementing COVID-19 socio-economic relief measures; (AM 171, 173)
32b (new) Expresses concern about the ongoing process of dismissal of leaders in public
health institutions at a time when Montenegro is seriously affected by the COVID 19
pandemic (AM 175)
as well as over a new loan of EUR 750 million by the Government,
without consulting the Parliament; (AM 168)
32c (new)
Commends the role of EU Civil Protection Mechanism that has secured much
needed support in medical and personal protective equipment in the fight against the
coronavirus in Montenegro; (AM 174)
COMP 31
COVID-19 vaccines
Paragraph 33
AM 177 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 178 (Rapporteur), AM 179 (Deli/NI), AM 180
(Ernst/The Left, Franz, Urtasun, Waitz/The Greens/EFA, Incir/S&D, Grošelj/Renew), AM
181 (Paet/Renew), AM 182 (Castaldo/NI)
AM 176 (Castaldo/NI) falls
33.
Calls on the Commission and the Council to
show its solidarity with Western Balkan
countries in helping them to receive COVID-19 vaccines (AM 181) and to include
Montenegro in joint EU procurement for vaccinations
; welcomes the actions by the
16
Commission and the Council to help Montenegro procure vaccines against COVID-19 via
COVAX and by other means such as coordinating donations by EU Member States and calls
for further assistance to ensure that and to allocate (AM 178) a sufficient amount of COVID-
19 vaccines
is available (AM 178) to the
citizens of people in (AM 180) all Western Balkan
countries
as soon as possible (AM 179
, taking into consideration each country’s pandemic
situation; (AM 177)
strongly believes that vaccine policies in general should be
humanitarian and should not serve geopolitical interests of any kind; (AM 182)
COMP 32
EIP, IPA
Paragraph 34, 34a (new)
AM 183 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 184 (Deli/NI), AM 186 (Deli/NI), AM 187
(Waitz/Greens/EFA)
34.
Encourages Montenegro to make best use of the Commission’s Economic and
Investment Plan for the Western Balkans; recognises its importance in supporting sustainable
connectivity
in transport and infrastructure, (AM 184) human capital, competitiveness and
inclusive growth in the region
while stressing that any investment must be in line with the
objectives of the Paris Agreement and EU decarbonisation targets; (AM 183)
34a (new)
Notes the equal importance of all investment targets of IPA III; (AM 186)
calls in this respect on the Commission to focus an appropriate share of the IPA III funds
on the ongoing democratic transition of Montenegro, especially in light of persistent
problems with the investment climate, absorption capacity, and environmental standards in
the country; (AM 187)
COMP 33
energy and environmental standards, electricity market
Paragraph 35, 35a (new), 35b (new)
AM 191 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 192 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 193 (Deli/NI), AM 194
(Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 195 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 196 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM
197 (Grošelj et al./Renew), 198 (Grošelj et al./Renew), 199 (Grošelj et al./Renew)
35.
Welcomes Montenegro’s progress in diversifying its electricity production towards
renewable sources
and exceeding its overall 2020 renewables target and sectorial targets for
electricity and heating and cooling, (AM 191, 192) as well as its active participation in the
Western Balkans Connectivity Agenda;
invites Montenegro to introduce streamlined and
simplified rules for facilitating the further deployment of renewable projects; (AM 191, 192)
highlights the importance of EU support of the shift towards cleaner and renewable energy;
(AM 193)
17
35a (new)
Commends Montenegro’s decision to discontinue financial support for small
hydropower plants that do not follow appropriate environmental standards; (AM 191)
notes
the slow progress and the delay in shutting down the Pljevlja thermal power plant (AM 197)
and invites Montenegro to comply with the rules of the Large Combustion Plant Directive
without delay; (AM 191, 197)
35 b (new)
Recognizes the steps Montenegro has taken towards establishing an
electronic system for guarantees of origin, in order to ensure compatibility with the
standardized European Energy Certificate System; (AM 194)
takes note of the advanced
stage of implementing reforms in the electricity sector and invites Montenegro to transpose
the REMIT Regulation without delay and transpose network codes into national grid codes;
(AM 195)
invites Montenegro to increase the current low level of cross-zonal capacities
available to electricity market participants in line with the best EU practices; (AM 196)
commends Montenegro for being a frontrunner in establishing a carbon pricing and
emission trading mechanism in the region; (AM 198)
welcomes the full compliance achieved
as regards the Fuel Quality Directive and calls for further progress in holding emergency
oil stocks; (AM 199)
COMP 34
Paragraph 36, 36a (new), 36b (new)
AM 188 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 189 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 190 (Waitz/Greens/EFA),
200 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 201 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 202 (Bilčík/EPP), AM 203
(Rapporteur), AM 204 (Rapporteur), AM 205 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 208
(Bilčík/EPP), AM 209 (Castaldo/NI)
36.
Welcomes the positive developments in further aligning Montenegro’s national
environmental and climate change legislation,
National Energy and Climate Plan, with the
acquis and calls for further efforts to finalise the document as soon as possible in line with
the recommendations of the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community; (AM 200)
commends Montenegro for protecting the Zeta river as a Nature Park (AM 201); calls on the
authorities to take urgent measures to better safeguard protected areas and potential Natura
2000 sites
, including Ulcinj Salina, Lake Skadar, the Tara river and others (AM 202);
calls
on Montenegro to improve waste management and address the issue of illegal waste disposal;
(AM 203);
calls on the authorities to include local communities and civil society in the
implementation of environmental, climate and energy policies and projects in the country;
(AM 201)
36a (new) recalls that establishing Sinjajevina military training and weapons testing area in
UNESCO-protected areas must follow UNESCO principles of socio-cultural and ecological
sustainability; (AM 201, 202)
recalls with satisfaction that according to Article 1 of its
constitution Montenegro is an ecological state; (AM 189)
notes that the development of
additional hydropower and tourism capacities, particularly those in protected areas, should
18
take into account EU environmental protection standards (AM 204);
calls on the authorities
to assess the environmental effects of the construction of the highway at Tara river (AM 190)
and
to better protect the most valuable areas; (AM 189)
reiterates its call to conduct
thorough and comprehensive ex-ante environmental, economic and social impact
assessments of infrastructure projects in line with European standards; (AM 188, AM 205)
36b (new)
Welcomes the launching of the Green Agenda in the Western Balkans, (AM
208, 209)
which has the potential to drive the transition towards a sustainable, carbon-
neutral economy; calls on Montenegro to continue introducing and implementing the
necessary legislation to achieve the agreed common goals on the digital and green
transformation (AM 209)
AM 206 (Castaldo/NI), AM 207 (Castaldo/NI), AM 210 (Castaldo/NI) - VOTE
19
RECITALS
COMP 35
All recitals A - Gc
AM 6 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 8 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 10 (Zovko/EPP), AM
11 (Waits/Greens/EFA), AM 12 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 13 (Fajon, Schieder/S&D), AM
14 (Grošelj et al./Renew), AM 15 (Zovko/EPP), AM 16 (Zovko/EPP), AM 17 (Krasnodębski
et al./ECR), AM 18 (Deli/NI), AM 19 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 20 (Krasnodębski/ECR),
AM 21 (Deli/NI), AM 22 (Deli/NI), AM 23 (Deli/NI), AM 24 (Deli/NI), AM 25 (Ernst/The
Left, Franz/Greens/EFA, Incir/S&D, Grošelj/Renew), AM 26 (Ernst/The Left, Franz, Urtasun,
Waitz/Greens/EFA, Incir/S&D, Grošelj/Renew)
AM 7 (Rivière, Mariani/ID), AM 9 (Waitz/Greens/EFA) fall
A.
whereas each enlargement country is judged individually on its own merits, and it is
the speed and quality of reforms that determine the timetable for accession;
Aa.
whereas pursuant to Article 49 TEU, any European country may apply to become a
member of the Union provided that it adheres to all of the Copenhagen criteria (AM 6)
,
including the respect for and protection of minorities; (AM 26)
B.
whereas democracy and rule of law are fundamental values on which the EU is founded
and are at the heart of enlargement and stabilisation and association processes; whereas reforms
are needed to tackle the challenges that remain in these areas;
C.
whereas Montenegro is currently the most advanced in its negotiation process, having
opened all the 33 screened chapters of the EU’s
acquis, and has provisionally closed
negotiations on three;
D.
whereas Montenegro has continued to build a
good (AM 8) track record in
implementing the obligations of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA);
E.
whereas the parliamentary elections of 30 August 2020 have resulted in the first
transition of power in a democratic setting in the country
since introduction of the multi-party
system (AM 12)
; whereas this transition was conducted in orderly manner; (AM 10)
Ea.
whereas the previous Government acknowledged the election results and the
transition of power, thus confirming the level of democratic maturity and progress achieved
in Montenegro; (AM 13, 14)
Eb.
whereas the European Union is Montenegro's biggest trading partner accounting
for 37% of total exports and 47% of total imports of goods with a volume of trade at EUR
1.38 billion in 2019; (AM 15)
20
F.
whereas the EU is the largest provider of financial assistance to Montenegro and
(AM 24) whereas Montenegro benefits from pre-accession assistance under the Instrument
for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA)
with a total of EUR 504.9 million for the period of 2007
- 2020; (AM 16, 24)
F a.
whereas the EU mobilised EUR 38 million in immediate support for the Western
Balkans to tackle the health emergency caused by coronavirus; (AM 17)
G.
whereas the EU agreed on the reallocation of EUR 374 million from the Instrument
for Pre-accession Assistance to help mitigate the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in the
region;
whereas an amount of EUR 53 million was agreed between the Commission and
Montenegro; (AM 18, 19)
Ga.
whereas a macro-financial assistance package of the value of EUR 60 million was
also offered to Montenegro (AM 21)
and whereas EUR 804 million has been provided via
EIB loans since 1999; (AM 22)
Gb.
whereas the Commission adopted a package of EUR 70 million under the
Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA II) to help fund the access of Western Balkans
countries to COVID-19 vaccines procured by EU Member States; (AM 20)
whereas
Montenegro signed an agreement in October 2020 under the COVAX initiative to receive
248.800 doses of these vaccines; (AM 23)
Gc.
whereas Roma and Egyptians were particularly affected during the Covid-19
pandemic as they remain victims of deep-rooted prejudice in both the social and professional
settings; (AM 25)
21
CITATIONS
COMP 36
Citations 15a, 18, 22, 22a, 22b
AM 1 (Deli/NI), AM 2 (Waitz/Greens/EFA), AM 3 (Krasnodębski et al./ECR), AM 4
(Reintke, Waitz, Urtasun /Greens/EFA, Schreinemacher, Ştefănuță /Renew, Walsh/EPP,
Angel, Biedroń, Schieder, Köster/S&D), AM 5 (Ernst/The Left, Franz, Urtasun,
Waitz/Greens/EFA, Incir/S&D, Grošelj/Renew)
Citation 15a (new)
having regard to the Commission communication of 29 April 2020
entitled ‘Support to the Western Balkans in tackling COVID-19 and the post-pandemic
recovery’ (COM(2020)0315), (AM 1)
Citation 18
having regard to the statement of preliminary findings and conclusions of the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) international election
observation mission to the parliamentary elections of 30 August 2020 in Montenegro, issued
on
11 December 2020, (AM 2)
Citation 22
having regard to the EU-Western Balkans
summits in the framework of the
Berlin Process of
5 July 2019 in Poznań and of 10 November 2020
in Sofia, (AM 3)
Citation 22a (new)
having regard to the fifth country monitoring report of the European
Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), published on September 20171, and
to the conclusions on Montenegro concerning the state of implementation of the 2017
recommendations, published on June 2020; (AM 4)
Citation 22b (new)
having regard to the Declaration of Western Balkans Partners on
Roma Integration within the EU Enlargement Process of 5 July 2019 and the Strategy for
Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro 2016–2020; (AM 5)
22
