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Montenegro achieves broad national consensus on EU values, PM Luksic says in an interview to Der Spiegel
Published on: Mar 30, 2011 • 10:14 PM Author: Bureau
Below is the English translation of an interview with Prime Minister Igor Luksic published in the latest issue of Der Spiegel (http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/).
Der Spiegel: The European Union is experiencing a severe financial and political crisis. Why does your country want to join the EU nonetheless?
PM Luksic: There is a broad consensus here that Montenegro's place in the long term is in the family of EU nations. We want to use the accession process to enact reforms and develop institutions, because we want to share the values of EU citizens such as the rule of law, free media, economic freedoms. People also, of course, hope that their standard of living will improve. And it's about a new political culture. We aspire to be in the EU, because we want to distance ourselves from certain pathologies of the Balkans.
Der Spiegel: The EU has expansion fatigue. Why should it accept your country?
PM Luksic: I believe that there is a strong interest in the EU in concluding the enlargement process by including the western Balkans. But I also believe that for newcomers today, higher standards are in place than in previous expansion rounds. We accept that.
Der Spiegel: Your country has a reputation for being very corrupt. You yourself are Europe's youngest prime minister. Is the fight against corruption and cronyism a generational question?
PM Luksic: The transformation process following the collapse of communist Yugoslavia and the wars in the region has promoted corruption. We are waging a difficult battle against it and have achieved some successes. It may well be that it is mostly the young who want to change the way the society functions. According to recent opinion polls only 12 percent of the population had to offer bribes to public servants to get job done, which is a drop from 18 percent. We hope to continue the progress.
Der Spiegel: The European Union is experiencing a severe financial and political crisis. Why does your country want to join the EU nonetheless?
PM Luksic: There is a broad consensus here that Montenegro's place in the long term is in the family of EU nations. We want to use the accession process to enact reforms and develop institutions, because we want to share the values of EU citizens such as the rule of law, free media, economic freedoms. People also, of course, hope that their standard of living will improve. And it's about a new political culture. We aspire to be in the EU, because we want to distance ourselves from certain pathologies of the Balkans.
Der Spiegel: The EU has expansion fatigue. Why should it accept your country?
PM Luksic: I believe that there is a strong interest in the EU in concluding the enlargement process by including the western Balkans. But I also believe that for newcomers today, higher standards are in place than in previous expansion rounds. We accept that.
Der Spiegel: Your country has a reputation for being very corrupt. You yourself are Europe's youngest prime minister. Is the fight against corruption and cronyism a generational question?
PM Luksic: The transformation process following the collapse of communist Yugoslavia and the wars in the region has promoted corruption. We are waging a difficult battle against it and have achieved some successes. It may well be that it is mostly the young who want to change the way the society functions. According to recent opinion polls only 12 percent of the population had to offer bribes to public servants to get job done, which is a drop from 18 percent. We hope to continue the progress.
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