“I believe that two years ago, before President Macron started speaking with me, he had … one opinion,” Milatović said. “After so many discussions that I had with him,” however, Macron was now “optimistic … about Montenegro’s position in the EU.”
“And I believe this is the case also with all the other EU leaders,” Milatović added. “Montenegro is now perceived as a front-runner. But … I do want to see the end of the race, in a sense.”
Another potential sticking point is the country’s reliance on Russian tourists and investors. Montenegro has yet to introduce visas for Russians, who can enter the country visa-free for 30 days, and Russians remain the largest foreign investors.
“What we are trying to do is sort of postpone it [visas] as much as we can, so that we still keep our tourism sector alive,” Milatović said, adding he was “absolutely” concerned by the influx of Russian cash. “We are a bit in a vacuum now because … we don’t have full access to EU funds.” That said, Montenegro will align its visa regime with the EU “very soon,” he said.
Ultimately, while much of the onus is on Podgorica to unite its political forces and deliver promised reforms, the EU also needs to prove “enlargement is alive” and “reforms pay off,” Milatović warned.
“The last country that entered was Croatia more than 10 years ago. And in the meantime, the United Kingdom left,” Milatović said. “So this is why I believe that now is the time to revive the process, to also revive a bit the idea of the EU as a club that still has a gravity toward it.”