PODGORICA – In order to advance on the path to the European Union, Montenegro needs to make further progress, not regress in the implementation of judicial reform, so it could meet the interim criteria for Chapter 23, said the European Commission’s Spokesperson Ana Pisonero, MINA reports.
She told the MINA agency that the European Commission was informed about the decision of the Judicial Council to reappoint the president of the Basic Court in Kotor, Branko Vučković to that position for the eighth time in a row.
Pisonero reminded that the 2020 EC Report on Montenegro emphasized that the decisions of the Judicial Council on the re-election of court presidents for at least the third term had already caused concern, adding that such decisions were not in line with GRECO’s recommendations on judicial independence, which Montenegro is expected to meet.
“In order to move forward on its path to the EU, Montenegro needs to make further progress in rule of law reforms, including progress rather than setbacks in the implementation of judicial reform, to meet the provisional benchmarks for Chapter 23,” Pisonero said.