CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 01/2017

LE MONDE INTERVIEW
While Montenegro is on a good track
in EU membership negotiations,
Ambassador Milić says, he sees the
attractiveness in other Western
Balkan countries going down.
primary strategy, which means membership in the
EU and the Nato. We are close to becoming the newest
and 29th member of Nato, and we hope the ratifications
process will be finished by the end of 2017,
since there are only four countries left to ratify. For
us, the Nato membership is the guarantee for peace
and security in the region, since its umbrella is going
from Portugal to Cyprus, and the only part of the Mediterranean
coast not under it is Montenegro. Concerning
EU integration, we can easily say that Montenegro
is the leading country of the Western Balkans
on this track. But we are not happy that other countries
are lacking behind, because it would be much
easier for us if they would be on a similar level of integration.
Unfortunately, the region is again very
much burdened with unresolved issues and there are
new dangers in the regions. Actually Montenegro is
unique in this sense and does not have any conflicts
with its neighbours. And we have to thank Austria as
it is one of the biggest supporters of Montenegro’s and
Western Balkans’ EU integration.
Porto Montenegro, which is the newest and maybe
most famous landmark of our country. The project is
going very well with a luxury Regent hotel recently
built. The second one is the Lustica Bay development
by the Swiss-Egyptian Orascom Group. The project
is on 6,9 milion squaremeters of land, with 7 hotels,
marina and golf course planned, and the value well
over one billion Euro. At the end of last year they already
have sold 96 apartments. And the third important
project is Portonovi in the vicinity of Herceg
Novi by Azmont Investments from Azerbaijan. It has
a net value of some 650 million Euro and we are very
proud that they have chosen Montenegro for this investment.
The first One & Only luxury resort in Europe
will be in Montenegro. And let me also mention
one of the most prestigious hotel brands of the world,
the Amman, which we have in Montenegro since years.
By the way, the tennis player Novak Đoković has
his wedding there.
Montenegro has started EU membership negotiations and
seems to be on a very good track. But there are areas like
corruption, organised crime or freedom of press on which
sufficient development has not yet been achieved, according
to the EU. How is Montenegro addressing these issues?
Montenegro has set its foreign policy goals right
after its independence in 2006 and has never changed
them. European and Atlantic integration is still our
But an enlargement of the EU seems not to be on the table.
Right. For example, the Malta Presidency doesn’t
have enlargement in its focus. Also President Jean-
Claude Juncker has indicated that there will be no
enlargement in the next five year. I fear, that the region
of the Western Balkans is out of the focus because
of the many problems Europe is facing. But, we don’t
want to be on the crossroad of civilisation again. If
you leave the region aside or not integrated, then you
will have the old problems because the region is not
developed enough. Therefore we are fighting for a
European perspective. This is the very one idea that
unifies us. Unfortunately, in other countries of the
region, the attractiveness of the EU is going down
and people are thinking about alternatives.
What about Montenegro?
You probably know, that we had an attempted
coup d’etat recently. This was not alleged, this was
real and a big danger for my country because our society
is still divided in some way. We don’t have a
consensus on our Nato membership, for example. So,
like many times in the past, Montenegro is in the
middle of a geo-strategical battle again. And that is
why values of the most developed EU and Nato
countries have to be implemented into our society.
In my opinion, this will mean peace and stability for
Montenegro and the region.
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
PHOTOS: XYXXYXYXY
NEU
AB
APRIL
Los Angeles
PERFEKTE WELLE
Mit myAustrian fliege ich mit herzlichem Service nonstop ins spektakuläre Los Angeles.
Dort finde ich zwischen Wellen und Strand meinen persönlichen American Dream.
the charming way to fly
58 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017