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During a recent visit to Brussels by recently
elected Montenegrin President Milo Djukanović, European Commission
President Jean-Claude Juncker complimented the reform efforts of the
Montenegrin government and acknowledged Montenegro as a leader in
European integration among Western Balkan states.
Djukanović, an enduring political figure, has led
the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) since the introduction of
multi-party politics in Montenegro, and with the exception of three
attempts at retiring from politics has held one of the two highest
political offices in the country, of prime minister or president.
After the most recent elections in Montenegro,
Western media commentators welcomed a Djukanović presidential
victory. As James Rothwell observed in The Telegraph, “Montenegro
defied Russia on Sunday by electing a pro-NATO political veteran who
hopes to lead the small Balkan state into the European Union.” And
this gets to the heart of why the leadership of Djukanović is
important for NATO and the EU: Russia did not want Montenegro to
join NATO and the EU, and the 2016 attempted coup, which was
organized by Russia and pro-Russian forces within Montenegro,
demonstrated just how much.
The list of Russian collaborators in Montenegro is
long, but part of the opposition led by the right-wing party
Democratic Front (DF), is openly proud to be on that list. Among
media, the scene is divided between outlets that support Montenegrin
sovereignty and those that have never made peace with the country’s
2006 split from Serbia. Leading the way in this latter group is
daily newspaper Vijesti, which ought to be applauded for its ability
to sell its pro-Russian media spin to European officials and
administrations under the guise of media democratization.
The latest example of this spin deserves special
attention. Pro-Russian media have taken to publishing dramatic
claims that the “dictator” Djukanović may overpower “pro-European”
Prime Minister Marković and then make a U-turn and, instead of
heading toward Brussels, lead Montenegro toward Moscow! This is
difficult logic to follow because it implies that Montenegro’s
accession to NATO, for which Djukanović deserves a considerable
amount of the credit, was simply a scam to build a bridge to Russia.
This argument is devoid of any connection to political reality. Yet,
many similarly absurd arguments put forth by Vijesti have been taken
seriously by European diplomats, especially those based in Podgorica
who rely on the analysis of pro-Serbian local staff.
Recent research carried out by ANTIDOT (and
sponsored by NATO) identified the key agents of anti-NATO
propaganda, but the EU, the US, and Germany appear to remain
ignorant to which media outlets and NGOs are in the service of the
Kremlin. Meanwhile, these para-political groups/so called ‘media and
NGO’ in Montenegro continue to be used, influenced and financed by
Russian figures like Reshetnikov and the Zeleznjak, and Russian
money continues to pour into the coffers of Montenegrin political
parties. But in Montegro, anything is possible. The same media and
NGO continue to be used, influenced and financed by Europan figures
such as Han, and continue to receive European funds for
democratisaton and media freedoms.
The role of influential local staff who work with
international diplomats should not be dismissed, too. Some are among
the best to emerge from Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan Amfilohije’s
“Orthodox Youth” organizations. And many are in positions to be the
filter through which various ambassadors view Montenegrin reality.
In a recent interview with Latinka Perović, I
speculated that the EU would put an end to further expansion, even
if nobody in the Commission is ready to officially pronounce this,
and now this seems to me to be completely confirmed. Even without
acknowledgement from the Junker Commission that it already views the
Western Balkans as “out of range,” it is clear that elections for
the European Parliament in 2019 will push the Commission so far to
the Right that they won’t even consider expansion. This will be
presented in such a way that it seems the problem is the
unwillingness of country candidates to meet conditions. Of course,
the country furthest along in meeting European standards and thus
closest to EU membership is Montenegro. And the tools for this
propaganda in Brussels are media such Vijesti, and several NGOs.
In truth, these propagandists reflect the pulse of
Montenegrin society about as accurately as Metropolitan Amfilohije,
who has said that Montenegrins have the “minds of the flies” because
of all their defeats: the breakup of Serbia, the independence of
Kosovo, and Montenegro's membership in NATO. And unfortunately, ever
since Štefan Füle organised media and civil society crew for
obsesivelly targeting Djukanović, all his heirs have relied on the
same, poorly selected advisors. Whether Bertolini, Drobnic, or Orav,
the results have thus been the same.
It is fair to say that this does little to
contribute to the credibility of the European Union. Perhaps the
circle of people in which Aivo Orav moves is narrow enough that the
Estonian actually believes his Delegation is achieving success. But
in that case, perhaps Montenegro should be another candidate to
receive condolences.
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