Response to allegations made by CCE's Daliborka Uljarević in show “Direktno” on TV Vijesti

Podgorica, Montenegro (3 July 2017) -- Executive Director of the NGO Centre for Civic Education Daliborka Uljarević presented an incorrect claim in the show “Direktno” on TV Vijesti, broadcast on Sunday, 2 July 2017, regarding Prime Minister's allegedly incorrect information, announced at the Prime Minister session, held on 28 Jun 2017, on the degree of support of Montenegrin citizenship to EU membership, commenting on this claim that it was “constant fatigue for some pink figures that simply do not correspond to reality.”

On the occasion of this unfounded allegation, and in order to properly inform the public, Public Relations Service of the Government of Montenegro announces the following:

Prime Minister Duško Marković announced the data from a public opinion poll conducted by the renowned DeFacto agency for the needs of the European Union Delegation.

The survey, which was announced by the EU delegation to Montenegro on 17 January, showed that 76.3% of Montenegrin citizens would answer “I would vote FOR” to the question “How would you vote on a possible referendum on Montenegro’s entry into the EU? (Committed)”

Therefore, the information presented by the Prime Minister is based on the research of the public opinion of the relevant agency, which was done in this case for the needs of the EU Delegation.

The survey also showed that this is a higher percentage of citizens of Montenegro than it was in the research of this agency conducted in 2013 and 2015, which is explicitly stated in the graphic and in the Conclusion. Therefore, the claim about the alleged drop in the level of support to the European Union in Montenegro is unfounded.

The EU Delegation to Montenegro announced the results of the survey on 17 January on its official website: http://www.delmne.ec.europa.eu/code/navigate.php?Id=3782. In the article entitled ”Opinion poll: continuous rise in support for Montenegro's EU accession,” the first sentence states: “The most recent opinion poll reveals a continuing positive attitude towards the EU and Montenegro’s accession process with a very high support of over 76% for EU membership among the decided voters who would turn out at the referendum.”

Since the publication of research results, Head of EU Delegation to Montenegro Ambassador Aivo Orav repeated the information on EU support of 76% of the citizens of Montenegro at least twice, as follows: in an interview with Mina News Agency on 2 May, saying that citizens of Montenegro recognise the EU’s commitment and contribution to the development of the state and that “this is best reflected in the fact that as many as 76% of Montenegrin citizens support the EU accession process” (https://antenam.net/politika/35489-orav-ubijedite-brisel-da-zasluzujete-clanstvo-u-eu), (http://www.rtcg.me/vijesti/politika/164536/ubijedite-brisel-da-zasluzujete-clanstvo.html) and at the celebration of Europe Day on 9 May which was broadcast by several media (http://www.vijesti.me/vijesti/orav-crna-gora-pripada-eu-i-eu-pripada-crnoj-gori-937134), (http://kodex.me/clanak/142079/crna-gora-pripada-evropskoj-uniji).

It is clear from above that it is not an alleged “fatigue for some pink figures,” especially not by the Prime Minister, but rather the attempted unreasonable staining of reality in black by the Executive Director of the NGO Centre for Civic Education.

PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF MONTENEGRO