Montenegro government falls into vote of no confidence – POLITICO

Montenegro’s government collapsed after its parliament voted in favor of a motion of no confidence.

The government had been in power since late April, when Dritan Abazović succeeded Zdravko Krivokapić as prime minister in a minority administration. The no-confidence motion was approved by 50 of 81 lawmakers on Friday, Reuters reported.

« We will be remembered as the government that lasted the shortest, but made the most difficult decisions, » Abazović said, according to the Montenegrin news agency MINA. He denounced the influence of criminal groups on politics, saying that « organized crime continues to use its tentacles ».

Montenegro obtained EU candidate country status in 2010. In its latest report on Montenegro’s progress, covering the period from June 2020 to June 2021, the EU underlined « the tensions and mistrust between actors policies ».

Vladimír Bilčík, a Slovak MEP who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation to Montenegro, said in a comment that Montenegro needs a government that can « prioritize EU strategic reforms rather than interests narrow policies ».

« Montenegro can join the EU when it successfully manages some difficult internal political tasks »,Bilčík tweeted.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct the nationality ofVladimir Bilčik.