Balkan nach Europa – sofort!
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In her blog article Darija Benić, IDM’s former trainee, explains the reasons for political instability in the context of approaching presidential elections in Montenegro.
The previous year has seen many unresolved issues in Montenegro, which have deepened its ongoing political crisis, attracting a lot of attention far beyond its borders and challenging its accession to the EU. After regaining its independence in 2006, it seemed that Montenegro should not face any major obstacles to becoming the next EU Member State. But is that really the case?
Montenegro declared independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006. After applying for EU membership in 2008, the country started the accession process officially in June 2012. So far, Montenegro has started all 33 of her negotiation chapters and has tentatively finished 3 of the total number. With Russia’s brutal war of aggression in Ukraine, Montenegro has also shown that it is 100% aligned with the EU’s common foreign and security policy, including all sanctions against Russia. At the same time, however, various EU officials have realized that Montenegro’s accession appears to be stalling. What happened?
One of the decisive moments that affected the political atmosphere and increased internal tensions was the signing of the “Fundamental Agreement” with the Serbian Orthodox Church in August 2022. It guarantees the Serbian Orthodox Church ownership of churches and monasteries on the territory of Montenegro, which, as the Democratic Party of Socialists stated, is violating the Constitution of Montenegro and will move the country further away from the EU. Relations with Serbia remain challenging but both sides are willing to work toward discussing open issues. Besides addressing the question of Serbian Orthodox Churches in Montenegro, some of the issues also include Montenegro’s accession to the Open Balkan regional initiative (a so-called mini Schengen zone in the Western Balkans), as well as the extradition of Svetozar Marović (the former president of Serbia and Montenegro charged on suspicion of being involved in corruption and smuggling), the ongoing economic crisis, and the attitude towards Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where Serbia still hasn’t imposed sanctions, although it has condemned the invasion. Another issue, which is closely related to the previous, is membership in the NATO alliance. Montenegro has been a member of the alliance since 2017, but not Serbia, which claims military neutrality. One of the main reasons for this is that the expansion of NATO is fiercely opposed by Russia, from which Serbia has support in the matter of Kosovo, as well as dependence on Russian gas supplies. Kosovo is another point of differing attitudes between Montenegro and Serbia; in 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, which Montenegro was among the first countries to recognize.
Apart from its relations with Serbia, which had a major impact in the previous period, there are additional issues at the national level in Montenegro that are affecting its path to the EU. Polarization, a lack of productive dialogue between political parties, and a failure to forge consensus on crucial issues of national interest led to the resignation of two turbulent governments. This political unpredictability and instability has affected the proper functioning of Montenegrin institutions. Due to the Parliament’s failure to elect new members and the incomplete composition of the key judicial bodies, the Constitutional Court was unable to fulfill its role as of mid-September because there was no quorum. It has only three judges out of a total of seven, therefore it cannot make decisions on constitutional appeals, which also refer to election processes. Without the final decision of the Constitutional Court, it is not possible to constitute a new government after the election.
Furthermore, the governments and the parliament have failed to demonstrate in practice their engagement as regards the EU-related reform agenda. In order to secure institutional and political stability, Western allies and the EU have been urging Montenegrin political leaders for months to come to an agreement on unblocking the constitutional court. If the judges are not chosen, the European Union has threatened the possibility of terminating accession negotiations with Montenegro. Given the current situation, this warning could have been anticipated and it is clear that, after 10 years of negotiations, the country has never been faced with such a blockade as it is now at the beginning of 2023.
Hopes were high after the last election in 2020, where Đukanović and the ruling elite did not openly interfere. The collapse of Europe’s longest consecutive ruling government (the DPS had been in power since 1989) and the democratic change has raised hopes that prosperity is possible after all, but there’s a long way to go. Many believed that Montenegro had finally left behind the regime that did not reflect the reality in this multiethnic country and was only a manipulation particularly designed for the international public.
The presidential elections in Montenegro
The fourth presidential election, since the restoration of independence and the seventh since the introduction of the multiparty system will be held on 19 March. From either side, it is uncertain who exactly will be running for president. There isn’t even a distinct coalition in sight. The fact that there are only two months until the presidential elections and the public is unaware of a single trustworthy candidate on either side is striking. Moreover, it appears that everyone is in some way shocked that the elections are taking place right now.
In a number of media appearances, the current Montenegrin president, Milo Đukanović, refused to say whether he would run for office again. It is also unknown whether, by the day of the election, Montenegro will have a functional constitutional court, which is necessary for the announcement of the election’s final results. The sixth round of judges‘ elections is underway, as the previous five attempts failed due to the impossibility of reaching an agreement between the ruling majority and the opposition.
Prime Minister Dritan Abazović assessed that the selection of constitutional court judges could be completed at the beginning of February. And the president of the parliament, Danijela Đurović, said that all political actors must show maximum responsibility and contribute in order for the country to emerge from the political and institutional crisis.
Montenegro has been given the opportunity to once again attempt to stabilize the situation, but with very short deadlines and with everything moving dynamically, we have yet to see how the political elites respond in the upcoming months. What is the way out of this current situation? The priority should be to unblock the constitutional court in order to correct the country’s constant political instability, focus on its long-standing European ambitions, and form a government that can prioritize EU reforms.
Darija Benić– a student in the Master’s program in Planning and Management of Tourist and Cultural Systems at the University of Bari Aldo Moro (Italy) and a former trainee at the IDM ( July to December 2022). She holds a BA degree in Languages and Cultures for Tourism and International Mediation from the same university.
Danubius Award 2022 to the Bulgarian scientist Prof. Dr. Diana Mishkova, Danubius Mid-Career Award to Ukrainian scientist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tamara Martsenyuk and Danubius Young Scientist Awards to 13 promising researchers from the Danube region.
The “Danubius Award” 2022 goes to Bulgarian Prof. Dr. Diana Mishkova, History Professor and Director of the Centre for Advanced Study (CAS) in Sofia, Bulgaria. With her work focusing on modern and contemporary history of Eastern Europe, the modernization of South-Eastern Europe, European societies, and European peripheries as well as national identities, she has contributed profoundly to research on the Balkans. She is o the funding director of CAS Sofia, that is supported by numerous international sponsors, such as the Wissenschaftkolleg Berlin (Institute for Advanced Study Berlin). Prof. Dr. Mishkova has already received several awards for her scientific work and is involved in different international projects – currently in the Horizon 2020 project „PREVEX – Preventing Violent Extremism in the Balkans“.
Ukrainian scientist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tamara Martsenyuk has been awarded the “Danubius Mid-Career Award” 2022. She is an Associate Professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. In her studies, she focuses on gender research, social inequality issues, gender policies, social movements, and empowerment. In addition to numerous stays abroad and the participation in international research projects, she also brings her expertise to national policy forums and NGOs. Her research is currently focusing on the topic “Women’s involvement in Russia’s War against Ukraine”.
In addition, 13 young scientists from the Danube Region will be awarded with the Danubius Young Scientist Award 2022 for their scientific work.
By presenting these Awards, the Austrian Ministry for Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) is contributing to the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) adopted by the European Council in 2011. Through the awarding of outstanding scientific achievements, the Danube region is made visible as a research area and the perception of its multidisciplinary challenges and potentials is strengthened.
„The Danube Region provides many opportunities for cross-border and regional cooperation among universities as well as research organizations. And there are, indeed, plenty of common challenges along the Danube and beyond which we need to jointly address and develop solutions for„ Federal Minister for Education, Science and Research Prof. Martin Polaschek pointed out on the occasion of the award ceremony on 10 November 2022 at the University of Maribor.
“The role of scientists and researchers has changed profoundly in the last decade. On the one hand, scientists and researchers are in a high demand to deliver fast results and provide evidence for critical policy decisions, and they have become indispensable in explaining and communicating the current knowledge available. On the other hand, we see a worrying rise in skepticism towards science and research as well as towards democracy in general, which creates a wide range of problems for and in our societies. We need to work together to counter this skepticism, and I am confident that all of you present and especially the awardees of today can and will contribute with their work towards demonstrating and communicating the relevance of science and research„, Polaschek continued.
The award ceremony in Maribor took place in the presence of Barbara Weitgruber, Head of the Department from the BMBWF, and Friedrich Faulhammer, Chairman of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM).
In her introduction, Barbara Weitgruber highlighted the solidarity with Ukraine as partner country of the EUSDR: “We will continue our support to the Ukrainian researchers, who have come or aim of coming in the EU, as well as to those remained in Ukraine. In addition to that, we hope for an early beginning of the reconstructions, and we are getting ready for appropriate support measures”.
Friedrich Faulhammer added: “I am really pleased that once again we are working together with the Ministry for Education, Science and Research to honor scientists, who are significantly contributing to the development of knowledge and understanding within the Danube region in their various fields of research. This year, I am particularly pleased that we can also highlight the scientific work of Ukrainian female researchers, as they are currently forced to work under the conditions caused by the unjustified Russian attack on their country”.
The “Danubius Award” was established in 2011 to honor researchers who have outstandingly dealt with the Danube Region in their academic or artistic work. The prize is granted every year on a rotating basis for achievements in the humanities, cultural and social sciences (2022) or in life sciences and is endowed with € 5,000.
The “Danubius Mid-Career Award“ is endowed with € 2,200 and has been awarded since 2017 to researchers who are from 5 to a maximum of 15 years after their last formal scientific degree or have equivalent scientific experience. The prize winners were selected by an independent jury of experts chaired by Univ. Prof. Dr. Stefan M. Newerkla (University of Vienna).
Since 2014, special young talent awards, the „Danubius Young Scientist Awards“ have also been awarded. The prize, which is open to all disciplines, highlights the scientific work and talent of young researchers and increases the visibility of the excellence of the research community in the Danube Region. In this way, the prizes also contribute to the fact that young scientists deal with the river and the region in a variety of ways. The young talent prizes are endowed with € 1.350, per award winner. The selection was made by an international jury of experts, whereby the candidates for the award were nominated by their respective scientific institutions.
Austria | Daniela Apaydin |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Marko Djukanović |
Croatia | Jelena Kranjec Orlović |
Czech Republic | Adela Grimes |
Germany | Jan Schmitt |
Hungary | Blanka Bartos |
Moldova | Nicolae Arnaut |
Montenegro | Miloš Brajović |
Romania | Mihaela Cudalbeanu |
Serbia | Zorana Miletić |
Slovakia | Tibor Zsigmond |
Slovenia | Žane Temova Rakuša |
Ukraine | Illia Diahovchenko |
Watch the Award ceremony below
Meinung der Europa-Abgeordneten zum EU-Beitritt der Westbalkanländer
“Balkan nach Europa – sofort“ forderten Erhard Busek und Sebastian Schäffer in ihrem Appell an die Europäische Union. Doch wie lauten die Positionen der österreichischen EntscheidungsträgerInnen im EU-Parlament zur Frage der EU-Erweiterung?
Das IDM-Team wollte es genau wissen und bat die VolksvertreterInnen, ihre persönlichen Positionen, Visionen und Handlungsspielräume zu erläutern. Neun von insgesamt 18 Abgeordneten darunter MandatarInnen aller fünf Parteien haben uns geantwortet und ihre Sicht der Dinge dargelegt
Wie beantworten die PolitikerInnen die Gretchenfrage zur Zukunft unserer Nachbarschaft? Informieren Sie sich über die unterschiedlichen Positionen:
Monika Vana, Thomas Waitz und Sarah Wiener
Und wie würden Sie diese Fragen beantworten?
Sebastian Schäffer/ Emilie Laborel
While the EU aims to abolish borders, this impulse dried out after 2013, especially for the Western Balkans (WB6). The EU member states are reluctant when it comes to enlargement, despite the promise given at the Thessaloniki summit in 2003.
For almost 20 years, the WB6 demonstrated their readiness to join. They started official procedures and some became candidates. They reoriented policies and all are participating in initiatives to prepare to become a member (e.g. CEFTA, mini Schengen, etc.).
After Croatia’s accession, enthusiasm for enlargement within the EU itself waned in the last decade, despite the positive signal it sent. The EU failed to keep up the momentum. This could weaken the trust of the WB6 in the EU and lead them to soften efforts while other actors (Russia, China or Turkey) are offering a viable alternative to integration.
The EU focuses too much on the Copenhagen criteria to assess the WB6 applications. It is not productive to point out each year which one is not met, especially when EU members have trouble meeting them. They should be adjusted. The EU’s ambition for WB6 is predominantly economic, it should rather be political. The economic gap between the two regions has been worked on and EU membership could speed convergence. The EU is making the accession processes increasingly complex, which can be blocked by a single country. All countries need to become politically responsible. Therefore, the EU should integrate the WB6 immediately.
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What is Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE)?
It is an initiative of the European Parliament and the European Commission with an aim to promote democracy, build a more resilient Europe and involve citizens as equal partners in the discussion on the future of the EU. Since 19 April 2021 also you can participate through the multilingual digital platform of the Conference.
The platform offers each European citizen the possibility to express their wishes for the future of Europe. Participating is easy: you can share your opinion, react to other citizens’ ideas, moderate your own events, or join live debates and workshops with other citizens. Don’t hesitate to engage in this exciting discussion to shape the Europe of the future!
Zwei Drittel der BürgerInnen der Westbalkan-Länder* vertrauen ihren Regierungen und Parlamenten nicht. 71 % geben an, dass die Regierungen Korruption nicht effektiv bekämpfen. Diese Zahlen stammen aus dem neuesten Balkan Barometer, das jährlich die öffentliche Meinung in Albanien, Bosnien-Herzegowina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Nordmazedonien und Serbien zu wichtigen Fragen von Politik und Wirtschaft erhebt. Es sind Zahlen, die nachdenklich machen, vor allem, weil sie sich in den letzten Jahren nicht verbessert haben. Gleiches gilt für die Worldwide Governance Indicators: Hier misst die Weltbank in fast allen Ländern der Welt verschiedene Aspekte der Regierungsführung und Verwaltung. Auf einer Skala von -2.5 (geringe Effektivität) bis 2.5 (hohe Effektivität) rangieren die Länder des Westbalkans im Kriterium Government Effectiveness bei -0,62 bis 0,01. Hierzu zählen zum Beispiel die Qualität der öffentlichen Services und des öffentlichen Dienstes. Der Vergleichswert Österreichs liegt bei 1,49. Ein ähnliches Bild zeigt sich bei Fragen der Rechtsstaatlichkeit und politischer Mitbestimmung.
Abwanderung der Unzufriedenen
Die wohl dramatischste Konsequenz dieser Entwicklungen ist die Abwanderung, von der die gesamte Region betroffen ist. Die Weltbank sowie das Wiener Institut für internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche haben zwischen 1989 und 2015 einen Bevölkerungsrückgang von 4,4 Millionen Menschen in der Region ausgemacht. Und das bei nur 18 Millionen BürgerInnen. Die Europäische Kommission hat die Problematik erkannt und 2020 eine EU-Erweiterungsstrategie für den Westbalkan inklusive Roadmap für das Funktionieren der demokratischen Institutionen und eine Verwaltungsreform präsentiert. Diese macht den Zusammenhang von funktionierenden demokratischen Strukturen und einer »guten« öffentlichen Verwaltung sichtbar: Good Governance ist ein wichtiges Fundament für die demokratische Prosperität eines Staates. Das KDZ-Zentrum für Verwaltungsforschung engagiert sich am Westbalkan gemeinsam mit seinen Partnern mit drei wichtigen Initiativen, die in der Folge kurz vorgestellt werden.
Zivilgesellschaft als Korrektiv
Das Projekt WeBER ist ein Zusammenschluss von zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen des Westbalkans, welche die Fortschritte der Verwaltungsreformen in der Region überprüfen. Dabei legt das von der EU unterstützte Projekt besonderen Wert auf die Sichtweisen von BürgerInnen und der Zivilgesellschaft. Es verwundert nicht, dass insbesondere Transparenz, Partizipation und Offenheit der Verwaltung eingefordert werden. Die Ergebnisse sind zum Teil ernüchternd: So finden nur 13 % der befragten zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen in der Region, dass die Entscheidungsfindung ihrer Regierung im Allgemeinen nachvollziehbar ist. Ein spezifischer Fokus liegt auf der Haushaltstransparenz, die sehr unterschiedlich ausgeprägt ist. In allen Ländern gibt es zwar Bestrebungen, die Transparenz der öffentlichen Budgets zu verbessern – in Nordmazedonien und im Kosovo wurden hierfür sogar bürgerfreundliche Haushaltsportale ausgebaut – aber nur in Nordmazedonien wird das Jahresbudget auch im Open-Data-Format veröffentlicht. Nichtfinanzielle Leistungsinformationen finden sich lediglich in dem Haushalt Albaniens und Ansätze von Bürgerbudgets gibt es nur in Montenegro. Als besonders problematisch stellt WebER fest, dass die Angaben von Montenegro und Serbien 2017 und 2018 weniger transparent waren als zuvor und auch nur wenige funktionale Informationen (z.B. Mittel für Soziales, Bildung, Gesundheit) bereitstellten.
Sichtbarmachen von Fortschritten
Mit dem Städteverband Südosteuropas wurde eine Onlineplattform aufgebaut, die erstmals für alle Länder des Westbalkans zeitnahe, genaue, zuverlässige und vergleichbare Indikatoren und Informationen zur lokalen Governance zugänglich macht. Die benutzerfreundliche Visualisierung komplexer Daten erlaubt es, die Fortschritte in der Dezentralisierung und der lokalen Selbstverwaltung zu überprüfen. Darüber hinaus ist sichtbar, welche Budgets für die Städte und Gemeinden zur Verfügung stehen, um wichtige öffentliche Leistungen wie Bildung, Kindergarten, soziale Hilfen und Infrastruktur für die BürgerInnen zu erbringen. Diese Transparenz-Plattform zeigt eindringlich, dass die kommunale Budgetautonomie abnimmt. Im Durchschnitt gingen die Einnahmen der Gemeinden in Südosteuropa zwischen 2015 und 2017 um 0,5 % zurück. Der Anteil, über den die Gemeinden autonom entscheiden können, verringert sich, während der Anteil von zweckgebundenen Zuschüssen ansteigt. Zentrales Problem ist das Generieren eigener Einnahmen, welches durch häufige Änderung der Rechtsrahmen sowie veraltete Register erschwert wird. Dadurch verliert die Regional- und Gemeindeautonomie als wichtiger Ausgleichsmechanismus im staatlichen Machtgefüge sukzessive an Bedeutung.
Transparenz und Partizipation bewerten
Vor nunmehr 20 Jahren haben sich die MinisterInnen für öffentliche Verwaltung der EUMitgliedsländer auf ein gemeinsames Instrument zur Qualitätsverbesserung ihrer Services geeinigt. Seither firmiert unter der etwas sperrigen Bezeichnung CAF (Common Assessment Framework – deutsch: Gemeinsamer Bewertungsrahmen) ein mächtiges, aber in der Öffentlichkeit wenig bekanntes, Werkzeug zur Verwaltungsreform. Bei diesem europäischen Ansatz geht es darum, dass öffentliche Verwaltungen, also Ministerien, Länder, Gemeinden, Sozialversicherungen sowie Verbände oder öffentliche Unternehmungen, selbstständig und andauernd einen Verbesserungsprozess initiieren. Das heißt, diese warten nicht auf den nächsten Aufruf zur Verwaltungsreform, sondern werden selber aktiv: Sie hinterfragen regelmäßig die internen Abläufe und digitalisieren schrittweise ihre Behörden, sie fördern die Personalentwicklung auf höchstem Niveau, sie leben Partizipation, Transparenz und arbeiten kundenorientiert. Das alles erfordert eine neue Kultur der Offenheit in der öffentlichen Verwaltung und Politik der Länder des Westbalkans. Dass der CAF ein wirksames Instrument zur Verwaltungsreform ist, zeigt auch die Europäische Kommission: Bei den Beitrittsverhandlungen überprüft die Kommission die Umsetzung der rechtsstaatlichen Grundlagen, zu denen auch die Maßnahmen zur Verwaltungsreform zählen. Dabei stellt die Kommission (genauer die SIGMA Initiative von OECD und EU) auch dezidiert die Frage, ob der Bewertungsrahmen eingesetzt wird. Mit der Regional School for Public Administration (ReSPA) hat das KDZ-Zentrum für Verwaltungsforschung deshalb ein umfassendes CAF-Programm initiiert. Dieses führte den Bewertungsrahmen als neues Instrument der Verwaltungsreform in Albanien, Bosnien-Herzegowina, Montenegro, Nordmazedonien und Serbien ein. Gemeinsam mit den zuständigen Ministerien dieser Länder wurden mit Unterstützung der Austrian Development Cooperation in den letzten Jahren insgesamt 19 CAF-Initiativen umgesetzt.
Demokratiemotor Good Governance
Diese drei konkreten Initiativen zeigen, dass Reformen der öffentlichen Verwaltung in Richtung Good Governance zur Stärkung der demokratischen Strukturen beitragen können. Besonderes Potenzial haben neben der Festigung der Rechtsstaatlichkeit und Servicequalität hierbei der Ausbau von Transparenz und die Einbindung von BürgerInnen sowie der Zivilgesellschaft. Dies ist notwendig, um Vertrauen und Legitimität in Verwaltung, Staat und Demokratie zu stärken. Klar ist aber auch: Die öffentliche Verwaltung kann hier nur einen wichtigen Beitrag leisten. Demokratie muss jeden Tag neu erkämpft werden und hierfür bedarf es der ehrlichen Unterstützung durch die politischen AkteurInnen.
zählen jene Staaten Südosteuropas, die noch nicht Mitglied der Europäischen Union sind: Albanien, Bosnien und Herzegowina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Nordmazedonien und Serbien.
Thomas Prorok ist stellvertretender Geschäftsführer des KDZ-Zentrum für Verwaltungsforschung. Seine Expertise umfasst seit 20 Jahren die Themen Verwaltungsreform, Dezentralisierung, lokale Selbstverwaltung und EU-Integration. Er ist Mitglied des Vorstandes des IDM und des Beirates der Regional School for Public Adminstration des Westbalkans (ReSPA). Seit 2015 leitet er das BACIDProgramm zum Aufbau von Verwaltungskapazitäten im Westbalkan und der Republik Moldau.
Briefing Parlamentswahlen in Montenegro 2020
The whole discussion is available on the YouTube channel of the IDM: