- Government of Montenegro
PM Marković: We want continuous partnership with N...
Please note: The page below represents the archived content relating to the previous Government of Montenegro. Some of the information might be inaccurate or outdated.
Archive
PM Marković: We want continuous partnership with NGOs
Published on: Jul 22, 2019 • 10:00 PM Author: PR Service
Cooperation between the Government of Montenegro and civil society is an important precondition for progress towards the EU, and more importantly, for the development of a healthy society. Bearing this in mind, the Government of Montenegro will continue to promote confidence, dialogue and cooperation through partnership and cooperation policy, and involve civil society in the process of European integration, it was concluded at the round table "Cooperation between the Government and NGOs in the EU Acsession Process" in Podgorica.
Prime Minister Duško Marković opened the event and reminded that Montenegro was the first state, of all those who negotiated with the EU, which significantly included representatives of NGOs in its negotiating structure. The Prime Minister spoke about the need for a more active presence and stronger contribution of representatives of NGOs in working groups.
"The Government is aware of the importance of civil society for the process of Montenegro's accession to the Union and therefore we are sincerely dedicated to continuously improving direct dialogue between the Government and civil society. I firmly believe that your specific knowledge, practical experience and critical view of things, framed in concrete and constructive suggestions, can increase the quality and speed of our negotiation process."
PM Marković emphasised that he does not think that NGOs should only monitor what the Government is doing, but that the civil sector should be an actor in policies related to European integration.
"We need public political dialogue, a political partnership with the civil sector. Political dialogue in terms of what are crucial strategic issues of this country, its development and sustainability," the Prime Minister said, adding that the goal is to ensure the continuity of the partnership.
Stressing the need to renew confidence in joint work and the unification of all Montenegrin potentials, the Prime Minister emphasised that in the coming period meetings between the Government and NGOs will be held every two months in order to discuss topics that have a wider significance for Montenegrin society. He stressed that, in order to ensure equal participation and greater involvement of NGOs from all parts of Montenegro, a meeting with civil society organisations from the north will be held at the beginning of September. He also pointed out that in order to improve the transparency of the negotiation process, the working group meetings minutes will be published and thus made available to the public.
Executive Director of Centre for Development of Non-Governmental Organisations Ana Novaković said that the cooperation between the Government and civil society in the process of European integration has grown into a political criteria for membership, and that she is paying special attention to the report on Montenegro year after year. "The fact is that the findings relating to civil society in the last three reports are almost the same, and the simplest we can paraphrase them - in cooperation between the authorities and civil society, we still have a form, without substance. And that's the place where the EC's findings and our findings are absolutely matching," Novaković said.
She pointed out that the insufficient confidence of the non-governmental sector in the honest intentions of the Government and other institutions for cooperation was justified. "As long as we have no legal certainty that the procedures and regulations in force that refer to NGOs are really respected, it is difficult to talk about other topics and strengthen cooperation," Novaković said.
Deputy Prime Minister Milutin Simović conveyed the Government's openness and readiness to hear suggestions and criticism from the civil sector. He highlighted that NGO representatives are members of numerous working bodies and that, in cooperation with the Government, they contributed to significant progress in a significant number of areas, and that these results are clearly visible in the negotiating chapters related to agriculture, fisheries and food safety. "The formula for success is in communication, dialogue and cooperation, and we have made the results so far using this formula," DPM Simović noted.
Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin said that criticism of the government is important, but not the only role of the civil sector, adding that there are a number of important social issues beyond the political issues that divide the Montenegrin society.
In this regard, he pointed out that the non-governmental sector in Montenegro has significant knowledge and capacities and expressed the Government's full readiness to use these important resources to the maximum extent through the constructive cooperation and synergy of the activities of NGOs and the Government.
Minister of Public Administration Suzana Pribilović pointed out that a significant step forward in the field of cooperation between the Government and NGOs has been made since 2018 and expressed the expectation that it will continue in that direction. "We work in the interest of citizens, not one or the other side," she said.
During discussion, representatives of NGOs pointed to the need to clearly define and respect the principles of cooperation between the Government and NGOs, the importance of the participation of NGOs from the north in the negotiation process, and especially emphasised the need to take into account the views and suggestions of NGOs in working bodies, the trust establishment between the two sides and gave concrete recommendations regarding improvement of situation in several negotiating chapters. Furthermore, representatives of NGOs praised the cooperation with certain ministries, stressing that openness, constant communication and joint work with the departments ensured the implementation of numerous joint projects and improvement of the situation in many areas.
Chief Negotiator Aleksandar Drljević pointed out that the opened 32 chapters and several ready for temporary closure are a confirmation that the energy, professionalism and work invested are well used, and that the results that we have achieved together testify that the negotiating structure is fulfilling its mission.
"European integration is a process of reform, but also learning. I am convinced that during the previous seven years we have learned a lot from both partners from the EC and member states, and from one another. Despite the different views and approaches in the solutions, I am sure that we have improved our understanding and cooperation, because in the end we are all on the same task and we have the same goal," Drljević said.
Related articles:
Prime Minister Spajić presents Barometer 26 Nov 21, 2024
Is this page useful?