Agreement reached between the government and the opposition, pending the response of the Venice Commission, the procedure for electing a judge of the Constitutional Court based on the competition of the Constitutional Committee is suspended

SOURCE: ANTENA M- AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS

At tonight's meeting in the building of the Delegation of the European Commission, an agreement was reached between the government and the opposition on a joint address to the Venice Commission regarding the controversial retirement of Constitutional Court judge Dragana Đuranović.

It was agreed that until the Venice Commission's official position is reached, the procedure for electing a judge of the Constitutional Court based on the competition announced by the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro will be suspended.

The text of the questions to the Constitutional Court will be prepared by one representative of the government and one of the opposition.

It was also agreed that, without previously securing a general political consensus, issues that divide the public, such as dual citizenship and the official language, which are insisted on by the NSD and DNP, should not be raised.

Below is the full statement from the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro.

At a meeting held at the premises of the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro, organized by Ambassador Johan Sattler, the President of the Europe Now Movement Milojko Spajić and the opposition representatives Danijel Živković (DPS), Damir Šehović (European Union) and Adrijan Vuksanović (HGI) signed an agreement agreeing to submit a request for an opinion to the Venice Commission no later than seven days after the agreement, regarding the procedure for determining the termination of the mandate of a judge of the Constitutional Court. The text of the request to the Venice Commission will be prepared by one representative of the government and one of the opposition, after consultations. The agreed request will be sent to the Venice Commission by the Prime Minister of Montenegro. The parties agree to take all necessary steps towards the full implementation of the opinion of the Venice Commission as soon as possible, and no later than 15 days after its submission. Until the opinion of the Venice Commission is submitted, the further procedure for the election of a judge of the Constitutional Court according to the competition announced by the Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro on 23.12.2024 will be suspended. , the EU Delegation to Montenegro said in a statement.

After signing this agreement, the parties commit to normalizing the political situation and restoring the functionality of the Parliament. The parties commit to supporting EU reforms and legislative initiatives prepared in consultation with EU institutions, with the aim of completing the EU accession negotiations by the end of 2026. The parties also commit to continuing the work of the Parliamentary Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform, with the aim of completing the electoral reform process by the end of 2025 at the latest.

In addition, it was agreed to focus on fulfilling the obligations from the EU agenda, and not to propose issues that divide the public without previously securing a general political consensus, as foreseen by the "Barometer 26".

In addition to Ambassador Sattler and the signatories of the agreement, the meeting was attended by PES representatives Boris Pejović and Bojan Božović, the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro concluded in a statement.