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Bushati - Luksic: The European Union should turn its attention to the Western Balkans

2023-05-12 17:57:00, Aktualitet CNA

Bushati - Luksic: The European Union should turn its attention to the Western

The next podcast "Public Square" by Ditmir Bushati, deals with the situation in Montenegro, after the end of the era of three decades of power by Milo Djukanovi?, the changes in the political scene and the process of joining the European Union.

Bushati talks in this episode with Igor Lukši?, former Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration as well as Minister of Finance, one of the main protagonists of the Euro-Atlantic journey of Montenegro.

Since the parliamentary elections of 2020, political life in Montenegro is no longer exclusive to the traditional divisions between the Montenegrin and Serbian blocs, due to the debut and success of new political actors and the erosive phenomena of the transition, for which the finger is pointed at long-lived and dominant actors of the political scene. In the new political configuration, the minorities are placed in a more decisive and at the same time pragmatic position, looking for different alliances. Also, the influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church has increased on the political scene.

Igor Lukši? thinks that if the new government of Montenegro is fully committed, Montenegro can once again serve as a good example in the region. He fears the lack of political stability in Montenegro, which he considers an obstacle to the fulfillment of the inherent reforms.

Lukši? does not spare his criticism of the EU in relation to the region as he poses the risk of becoming similar to Turkey and its never-ending accession process.

"We need a structural change, as far as the process is concerned, accepting the states of the region as associate members, in some very important aspects, and not a full membership, because we still have some member states in the EU that think that the EU needs to it is reformed from within first, before accepting new members", he says.

Bushati and Lukši? dwell on a major social problem that is eroding the entire region and that is the mass departure of young people and agents of change. Bushati learns from the fact that "abandoning the region contradicts the very essence of the EU membership process, to build Europe in our home".

While Lukši? warns of worsening of the situation "because in the coming years Germany will lose about 7 million people of its workforce. These shortages or vacancies will have to be filled in some way, and most likely this region can serve as a large reservoir from which people with specialized knowledge of various kinds can find employment opportunities in Germany. Which turns the countries of our region, at best, into a "European Florida" , that is, at least this applies to Albania and Montenegro, of the EU or Northern Europe. Or at worst, a very poor or poor remaining part of the continent, relying on classical tourism and agriculture .”

Bushati and Lukši? also spoke about Serbia's influence on the developments in Montenegro./ CNA.al