06.07.2021 – 23:20
Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic in an interview with journalist and analyst Mentor Nazarko spoke about the minishengen as well as the road to European integration.
Abazovic says any initiative that achieves positive results is a good co-operation, adding that he stands by his word against changing borders.
For Abazovic, the Balkan countries should break all barriers to become part of the European path, while he says that Montenegro has the ambition to become part of the EU within this mandate or the next mandate because according to him, Montenegro has meet most integration requirements.
Excerpts from the interview:
Question: For Minishengen for a Balkan space where the four freedoms are respected, there are several variants is the Berlin process, it is Minischengen Rama, Zaev, Vucic where Djykanovic was, but there is also a proposal of Albin Kurti where he says common space according to the Icelandic model, but to have a secretary, courts, institutions, ie institutionalization of the Balkans. Which model are you for?
Abazovic: I am for any model that shows that collaboration can be much more active than now. I do not like it when someone gives me illogical criticism. All these that you mentioned have one thing in common for the Balkan states to function better.
Anything that leads to cooperation is good and anything that goes to the destruction of the relationship is something weak. The dream is for these states to break down barriers. I am against the changes of borders, so they do not exist, but also the mobility between different states, people to be unlimited. These are initiatives that I have close to.
Question: Non-institutionalization, which means with the secretary, the court, so is the ghost of the new Yugoslavia revived.
Abazovic: I think that project is far from being realized. We can no longer make the regional football league and no longer make joint courts. I’m not against it as an idea, but I do not see it as something real. At the moment I do not see that real idea even though it is very emancipated and progressive and maybe in a few years or after a decade conditions can be created.
Question: Then after 10 years we will enter European Integration?
Abzovic: It is something final, the ultimate achievement that should be for all states.
Question: Albin’s idea is to create it without going to the EU. I understand that arbitrage institutions are needed to resolve disputes, but institutionalization is something else.
Abazovic: I can not speak on behalf of Kosovo, but on behalf of Montenegro I can say that we have ambitions to become part of the EU within this mandate or the next mandate. We must push Montenegro to become part of the EU. But any initiative that can help us is acceptable. We think we have done a great deal of work on integration and perhaps have a slightly different position compared to other regional countries.
